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Hot and Sour Soup

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This restaurant-style Hot and Sour Soup recipe is the best!! It’s quick and simple to make, easy to adapt to your personal taste preferences, and so delicious.

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Can’t stop, won’t stop with the soup recipes this winter.

And today’s recipe is one that I’ve been meaning to share with you on the blog for years, after literally dozens and dozens of you have requested it. (This usually comes up when I’m chatting about my favorite egg drop soup recipe — apparently many of you usually opt for the hot and sour soup at your favorite Chinese restaurants and have wanted to learn how to make it!)

Well, good news, friends! Traditional hot and sour soup is actually incredibly easy to make as well. And the bonus of making it at home is that it’s also incredibly easy to customize to your taste. Like it extra hot? Add in more chili garlic sauce. Like it extra sour? Add in more rice wine vinegar. Like it vegetarian? Make it with tofu. Like the meat version? Just add in some pork.

Trust me, this is one of those restaurant recipes that will taste just as good at home. And on chilly winter weeks like this one that we’re having here in Kansas City, it’s guaranteed to warm you up in the most delicious of ways.

Hot And Sour Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video

Shiitake Mushrooms for Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup Ingredients:

To make this hot and sour soup recipe, you will need:

  • Broth: Either chicken or veggie stock (or broth) will do.
  • Mushrooms: I highly recommend using shiitake mushrooms, but baby bella or even button mushrooms would also do.
  • Rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, ground gingerTo flavor the broth.
  • Cornstarch: To thicken the broth.
  • Eggs: Which we will whisk, and the drizzle into the soup to make those lovely egg ribbons.
  • Firm tofu: Which we will cube and add to the soup.
  • Green onions: To stir into the soup and also sprinkle on top as a garnish.
  • Toasted sesame oil: An essential flavor in the soup, which we will drizzle at the very end.
  • Salt and pepper: Hot and sour soup is traditionally made with white pepper, which (heads up) has a different and much stronger flavor than black pepper. I recommend adding in a pinch, and then you can always add in more later. Or if you don’t have white pepper, black pepper will also do.
  • Optional: Many restaurant versions of hot and sour soup are also made with bamboo shoots. I’m personally not a fan of them, but you are welcome to add some in if you would like.

Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

How To Make Hot and Sour Soup:

To make this hot and sour soup recipe, simply…

  1. Make your cornstarch slurry. Whisk together 1/4 cup of the stock and cornstarch until combined. Set aside.
  2. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the remaining stock, mushrooms, bamboo shoots (if using), rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and chili garlic sauce to a large stock pot, and cook until the soup reaches a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and continue cooking for a minute or so, until the soup has thickened.
  3. Drizzle in those beautiful egg ribbons! While stirring the soup in a circular motion with one hand, use your other hand to slowly drizzle the whisked eggs into the soup.
  4. Season the soup. Stir in the tofu, half of the green onions, and sesame oil. Then season the soup with salt and black pepper (or white pepper) to taste.
  5. Serve.  Ladle up your servings while the soup is nice and hot, garnished with extra green onions.

How To Make Hot and Sour Soup

What To Serve With Hot & Sour Soup:

Here are a few of my favorite dishes that pair well with hot and sour soup:

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe with Mushrooms and Tofu

More Favorite Soup Recipes:

If you love egg drop soup, feel free to check out these other favorite soup recipes:

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Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Hot and Sour Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 331 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 6 -8 servings 1x

Description

This classic Chinese hot and sour soup recipe is quick and easy to make, full of delicious flavor, easy to make vegetarian (with tofu!) or with pork, and it totally rivals any soup I’ve tried at a Chinese restaurant!


Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Set aside ¼ cup of the chicken or vegetable broth for later use.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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 as well.  Or if you’d like a spicier soup, add in more chili garlic sauce.
  5. Serve immediately, garnished with the extra green onions.


Notes

Pork option: Or, you’re welcome to make this with pork instead of tofu.  Just add in a half pound of cooked pork — ground pork, or you can 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.

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604 comments on “Hot and Sour Soup”

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  1. I LOVE this soup recipe! Sometimes I add in random sautéed vegetables… not to change the recipe intentionally… but to increase my vegetable intake! Which is hard for me to do. The soup is so good though I don’t notice them! That is a huge win for me!






  2. I am a STICKLER for hot and sour soup. And let me tell you, as a connoisseur of sorts, this is THE BEST version of the best version of flavorful hot and sour soup. Thank you for making this recipe so easy to follow and so full of deliciousness!!! Will be keeping this one and making it until I die.






  3. I love Hot and Sour Soup. I’ve made it all different ways, but this way is so easy and I add pork instead of the tofu so my picky husband will eat it. He loves it! Great recipe!






  4. Love this delicious and comforting soup on a cool day. I like it spicy so I do add more chili sauce. So Good. Love the egg ribbons.






  5. My first time making hot and sour soup and it was delicious.. Based on the reviews I read, I reduced to one egg, and 1/4 of the ginger. I increased the rice vinegar and white pepper and added a thin bit of regular cabbage and julienned some bamboo shoots. . When adding the egg, I swirled the soup, not stirring it rapidly, and it was perfect. I will use this recipe again.






  6. Recipe calls for too much ginger. I used the same amount of ginger but triple the rest of the recipe yet ginger taste is overpowering

  7. Omg. This soup was so freaking good. I made it to go with Beef and Broccoli over noodles and all I could focus on was the soup. This recipe is perfect. I only made adjustments based on my preferences. (Added extra tofu, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Also doubled the chili sauce and a bit more white pepper). Again, great as is. I just added extra of those to intensify it a bit more based on my personal tastes. Thank you for sharing this recipe. This will be made time and time again!






  8. I started making Hot and Sour Soup at home because there is only one place close to my house that makes it like I like it….except for the Wood ear mushrooms. I’d spend the first ten minutes of eating using chopsticks to pick them out. It was quite cathartic actually. LOL A lot of the ingredients listed can live in your pantry for some time and are used a lot in other Chinese dishes, so don’t be afraid about spending money on those. As with all things soup, the broth you use will make or break this dish.






  9. This was great! I also used 1/4 cup of dark soy and doubled the chili garlic sauce (personal preference).






  10. This is AMAZING! Just made it now- faaannnnntastic! Thank you for the recipe. I have celiac so I’m able to adjust this to my requirements.

  11. This soup is excellent. I keep better than bouillon on hand. I used the low sodium one. It worked great in this soup.






  12. I’m so happy you posted this recipe! I haven’t found any place that can beat this one! I shared with my neighbors, and they said it was 5 star rating…the only thing I added was bean sprouts (mung beans)…so yummy!






  13. Been trying to find the right Hot and Sour soup recipe I think this is it! Just right. I didn’t change a thing and its very tasty broth. You could add just about anything you want to this base. Not too spicy just perfect!

  14. I made this last night. It is perfect exactly as written. My 6 year old was RAVING about it! I will keep this one on file for future use; no need to change a single thing.

  15. I could literally cry I love this recipe so much!!!! You know how you have it and think “Mmm I’d love mine with a bit more rice vinegar” but never have I found a recipe that was just hot and sour perfect, but this is it. I like mine a bit spicier so added in some red pepper flakes. Perfect recipe and my go-to for my beloved hot/sour soup. Thank you

  16. I have never commented on a food blog before but this recipe is the bomb! Who knew such complex flavors could be made so easily. THX!

  17. Does this freeze good????

  18. Super delicious! I definitely add an extra Tbsp or so of vinegar and 1 or 2 swirls of chili garlic sauce before its the way i like it but it did fix all of my hot and sour soup needs!






  19. Great base recipe! I added about triple the vinegar and some crushed red pepper flakes to get more of the sour and spice I’m used to. Next time, may try to use some dried mushrooms to add to the umami.l!






  20. I made a half recipe but used the full recipe amounts for shiitakes, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Was delicious and flavorful! I served it with Trader Joe’s Taiwanese green onion pancakes – fabulous.

  21. I never leave reviews because why would you need one more when you have so many? But I felt compelled to leave my 5 star review because of how yummy and easy to make this soup was. It was a huge hit with the family, including a picky eater.
    I added some carrot, broccoli and water chestnuts (love their crunch). Used Thai Kitchen sweet red chilli because couldn’t find chilli garlic sauce.

    Delish!

    Thanks so much!






  22. This is a good basic recipe, but the soup is rather bland if prepared as written. Had to almost double the vinegar and it needed lots of salt and white pepper to get it right. Once the vinegar was right, it had that “bite” we always enjoy at the local Chinese restaurants. Seems like the recipe was toned down a bit for those who don’t have authentic Chinese restaurants in their areas.






  23. I made this tonight. I did up the garlic chili sauce to almost 3/4 ago a 13oz jar and 1/2 bottle of 12oz rice vinegar to make it hot and sour enough for my taste.

    I also made chicken broth from scratch, so it’s not super salty either. Which is great for my Dad.

    I liked that this was a super easy recipe and basically you dump the ingredients in and it’s ready in 20mins.

    Thank you for making this easy!






  24. This is so easy to make and the best hot and sour soup I have had. Served to company and has requests for the recipe.






  25. I love this soup. Made it for the first time tonight and this will definitely be a recipe I make over and over. So simple and easy. This has always been one of my favorite soups and now I don’t need to go out to have it. Love it!!!!






  26. I cannot believe how delicious this came out!! omg!! This is my favorite Asian soup and this recipe nailed it!!
    My family absolutely loved it! i took some to work and one of my coworkers is obsessed and is begging for me to bring her some more. lol!

  27. I love everything about this soup recipe. I make it for my grandmother too because she loves it as much as I do. I never write reviews but I feel like I need to because it’s so good!!!






  28. I made it and it was amazing! Little bit hot but I liked that way. Will make again!






  29. This recipe was so easy and delish! The whole family loved it.






  30. I never write reviews but this recipe is review worthy. Oh my goodness.. this recipe has saved me money from going out to my local Chinese restaurant to buy hot and sour soup. The first time I made it had too much ginger so I cut that down to 1/4 tsp and added another teaspoon of chili garlic sauce. I may add more chili garlic sauce since I like it more on the spicy side. I added the crispy wonton strips you can find in the salad section of the grocery store and this taste just like my favorite Chinese restaurant if not better.

    So take the suggestion and only use 1/4 teaspoon of ginger when making this recipe!






  31. My go-to hot n sour soup recipe! I have it memorized so I can skip this up in no time.