Hot and Sour Soup

This Hot and Sour Soup is a delicious, quick, and easy Chinese recipe that can be made vegetarian or with pork.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Course Soup

Cuisine Chinese

Servings servings

Calories 150 kcal

Equipment

large stock pot

Ingredients

8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms, thinly-sliced with stems discarded
1 can (8-ounce) bamboo shoots drained, optional
¼ cup rice vinegar or more to taste
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large eggs whisked
8 ounces firm tofu cut into ½-inch cubes
4 green onions thinly sliced
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt
white pepper or black pepper

Instructions

Set aside ¼ cup of the chicken or vegetable broth for later use.
Add the remaining 7 ¾ cups chicken or vegetable broth, mushrooms, bamboo shoots (if using), rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and chili garlic sauce to a large stock pot, and stir to combine. Heat over medium-high heat until the soup reaches a simmer.
While the soup is heating, whisk together the ¼ cup of broth (that you had set aside) and cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth. Once the soup has reached a simmer, stir in the cornstarch mixture and stir for 1 minute or so until the soup has thickened.
Continue stirring the soup in a circular motion, then drizzle in the eggs in a thin stream (while still stirring the soup) to create egg ribbons. Stir in the tofu, half of the green onions, and sesame oil. Then season the soup with salt and a pinch of white pepper (or black pepper) to taste. If you’d like a more 'sour' soup, feel free to add in another tablespoon or two of rice wine vinegar. Or if you’d like a spicier soup, add in more chili garlic sauce.
Serve immediately, garnished with the extra green onions.

Notes

Pork option: You can make this with pork instead of tofu. Just add in a half pound of cooked pork — ground pork, or thinly-slice pork chops or pork loin — in place of the tofu. White pepper: I prefer using a pinch of white pepper in this soup instead of black pepper. But if you are new to cooking with white pepper, heads up that it has a much stronger (and slightly) different flavor than black pepper! I recommend starting with a small pinch, then you can always add more to taste.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 150kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 10gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 800mgPotassium: 400mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 500IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 200mgIron: 2mg

Keyword easy recipe, Hot and Sour Soup, quick recipe, soup, tofu, Vegetarian