This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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
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.
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.
How To Make Hot and Sour Soup:
To make this hot and sour soup recipe, simply…
Make your cornstarch slurry. Whisk together 1/4 cup of the stock and cornstarch until combined. Set aside.
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.
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.
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.
Serve. Ladle up your servings while the soup is nice and hot, garnished with extra green onions.
What To Serve With Hot & Sour Soup:
Here are a few of my favorite dishes that pair well with hot and sour soup:
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!
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 as well. Or if you’d like a spicier soup, add in more chili garlic sauce.
Serve immediately, garnished with the extra green onions.
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.
I made this the other night, we had enough for leftovers, and I’m making it again this week! It is that good!! I added a touch more rice vinegar, as suggested, because, well, I love the sour! 5 stars!
Great soup and easier than a recipe I had made in the past. I entered the recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder and it comes out to 3sp per serving based on 6 servings.
I made this without the mushrooms (gasp!) because I didn’t have any, and it was still very good! Used fresh ginger (about a tablespoon, sauteed in some sesame oil) and used a few splashes of Trader Joes umami paste to make up for the lack of mushrooms. I’m sure it would be that much bette if I actually used the mushrooms. So good.
I made the soup and followed all the method stated in the recipe. The soup taste good and my friends and family like the taste a lot. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe.
This is now my favorite soup ever! I’ve made it twice and it got better the second time. I like spicy so I added more chili paste & vinegar and I did use the shiitake mushrooms. I added wide udon noodles & it really elevated it to a full meal. It gets pretty thick so i added more chicken stock . I love it!! Thank you for your fabulous recipe!
OMG – So good and so easy. I used a tad more garlic chili sauce and vinegar cause I like the extra zing. The hubby even liked it, and he isn’t a fan of hot and sour soup.
Great soup for a cold day! I took you advice and added a little extra rice vinegar for sourness, but also added a little extra chili garlic sauce for extra zing
Made this on Christmas and it was YUMMY!!! I did not have rice vingar and so I subbed it with apple cider vinegar and white cooking wine. Still tasted great! Thank you for the recipe. It was easy to make and so comforting on a cold night.
This is a TERRIFIC recipe. I’ve made hot and sour soup from several recipes and this is quick, simple, delicious.
I did adjust sour and hot to taste. Made an adjustment for color, 1/2 dark soy sauce and 1/2 low sodium soy sauce, beautiful rich color. Added meat protein for the carnivores ( pork, chicken, shrimp). DELICIOUS. I’ve also frozen scrambled eggs and egg recipes with no negative affect. Something to consider.
This turned out to be really great however at first it was rather bland for me so I had to add a lot more of the ginger, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil to get it really flavorful. The best thing to do it make it a day before and let it sit in the fridge because the next day it was 10 times better. I will make this again. :)
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! My husband has begged me for years to find a hot and sour soup recipe, but 1) there are a million recipes out there, 2) I have no idea what would constitute a good recipe, and 3) I have no idea how to prepare some of the ingredients that many of the soup recipes use. Earlier this week, I googled best hot and sour soup recipe, and your recipe popped up! After seeing that the recipe called for easily found ingredients and after reading all the stellar reviews, I bought the ingredients today and made it. We are both over the moon thrilled with it!!! I did end up doubling the rice vinegar and adding more chili garlic sauce, but the end result would rival any restaurant version. My search is over! Thanks, again!
I made this over the weekend. I added quite a bit of red pepper to give it more kick. I will add a bit more cornstarch the next time, as my husband likes this a bit thicker, but overall, delicious. I will make it again.
I used to take my Mother to a Chinese Seafood restaurant in Scarborough , Ontario and they served family style and sized Hot and Sour Soup which was fantastic…As she aged, the spicier the better…perhaps her taste buds were diminishing in responsiveness…anyway, the restaurant served the soup with blimp wonderful 16-20 size shrimp and lots of them…fantastic!
Thank you for sharing… I made it for my husband and he loves the taste so much… quick and easy!
My second hot and sour soup would be more and more beautiful. Awesome!!!!!!
I have been looking for a hot and sour soup recipe that has easy to find ingredients for a long time. This fit the bill and the reviews were great. We do add more rice vinegar and Chili garlic paste. It really is wonderful.
Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to try some of the recipe others.
This is absolutely delicious! I made it exactly like the recipe the first time which is fantastic but the second time around I got a little jiggy with it. ?
I added bell peppers and onions and then after adding in the egg mixture, then I replaced the tofu with mini chicken and vegetable wontons. I doubled up on the recipe, I always try to make enough for leftovers so we have something easy to cook later in the week. I am feeding a family of four which consists of my very picky 13 year old son, my 28 year old son who is sometimes just as picky and a husband who got a back up meal just in case he didn’t care for it, ha! I served it along with some chow mein noodles and watched in amusement as they all went back multiple times for bowl after bowl. This is the first time in 30 years of marriage we had nothing left, not a drop!
You can’t eat only one serving of this soup. At least two bowls but probably 3! We added a little extra rice vinegar and a little more white pepper and now there is barely any left. Definitely making it again!
When I try to make something I’ve had in a restaurant, it usually comes out somewhat off the mark. But this recipe NAILS it! Not only is it just like the hot and sour soup you get in restaurants, but it’s SUPER quick and easy to make. I also like that almost all of the ingredients can be kept on hand. I only have to remember to buy mushrooms, green onions and tofu. The rest I typically have stocked at home. And it’s very easy to adjust the hot vs. the sour. If you make it, take the time to find the exact ingredients the first time (no substitutions) and you will be good to go for many batches.
I am trying to make this for my keto diet. Do you have any suggestions to replace cornstarch?
Martin —
Konjac flour is a good choice. Use around a quarter of a teaspoon of glucomannan for every 2 teaspoons of cornstarch you would use. Was I too late? 2 years :(
This is my absolute favorite soup and this recipe looks exactly like the one I get from my favorite Chinese restaurant so totally PINNED and can’t wait to try it.
sassygirl —
hi!
i use arrowroot mixed with the broth (same
amounts) and it is fabulous!
Left out tofu, but put in the bamboo shoots. Instead of salt used Thai fish sauce. Goooooood! I collect H&S recipes & make 3 or 4 batches a month.
Sometimes I mix broths, using pork, beef, ham, or seafood, along with chicken. I knew a Taiwanese granny who told me any meat broth works. She also never used the same veggies each time. Lotus root, chestnuts, carrots, peas, pods. I often add extra sourness without extra vinegar by adding citric.
I made this the other night, we had enough for leftovers, and I’m making it again this week! It is that good!! I added a touch more rice vinegar, as suggested, because, well, I love the sour! 5 stars!
Great soup and easier than a recipe I had made in the past. I entered the recipe into the Weight Watchers recipe builder and it comes out to 3sp per serving based on 6 servings.
The best hot and sour soup I’ve ever had. Better than any restaurant version. It was a hit with the entire family!!!
I made this without the mushrooms (gasp!) because I didn’t have any, and it was still very good! Used fresh ginger (about a tablespoon, sauteed in some sesame oil) and used a few splashes of Trader Joes umami paste to make up for the lack of mushrooms. I’m sure it would be that much bette if I actually used the mushrooms. So good.
I made the soup and followed all the method stated in the recipe. The soup taste good and my friends and family like the taste a lot. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe.
Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed it!
Whats the “sour” part of this soup??
1/4 cup rice vinegar,
The rice vinegar
Rice wine vinegar
Rice vinegar
The vinegar..
This is now my favorite soup ever! I’ve made it twice and it got better the second time. I like spicy so I added more chili paste & vinegar and I did use the shiitake mushrooms. I added wide udon noodles & it really elevated it to a full meal. It gets pretty thick so i added more chicken stock . I love it!! Thank you for your fabulous recipe!
OMG – So good and so easy. I used a tad more garlic chili sauce and vinegar cause I like the extra zing. The hubby even liked it, and he isn’t a fan of hot and sour soup.
Love it! Fast and easy. Thank you.
Can I make JUST the broth freeze in single serve containers? Then add veggies, meat & egg when reheating?
I made some and froze it with everything in it, tasted great even weeks later. I’m sure you could easily make just the broth and freeze it. :)
Would like to share your recipe on my blog. Permission to use photos and videos?
I love it! I added an extra egg and ginger and its beautiful and very yummy. Also substituted sriracha for the ginger and it worked out fine.
I did this and it’s the better soup ever! Thanks for the recipe! I make a pot every week :)
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. My friends think it’s better than what you get at a restaurant and I agree!
Excellent recipe as is!
Making this for a Christmas Party potluck tonight…will let you know reviews soon. Thanks!
Fred
Big success… thanks again!
Tasted SOO good. Will definitely make it again :)
This Hot & Sour soup was super quick, full flavored and absolutely delicious. Thank you. Will make again.
Great soup for a cold day! I took you advice and added a little extra rice vinegar for sourness, but also added a little extra chili garlic sauce for extra zing
Made this on Christmas and it was YUMMY!!! I did not have rice vingar and so I subbed it with apple cider vinegar and white cooking wine. Still tasted great! Thank you for the recipe. It was easy to make and so comforting on a cold night.
This is a TERRIFIC recipe. I’ve made hot and sour soup from several recipes and this is quick, simple, delicious.
I did adjust sour and hot to taste. Made an adjustment for color, 1/2 dark soy sauce and 1/2 low sodium soy sauce, beautiful rich color. Added meat protein for the carnivores ( pork, chicken, shrimp). DELICIOUS. I’ve also frozen scrambled eggs and egg recipes with no negative affect. Something to consider.
really enjoyed
This turned out to be really great however at first it was rather bland for me so I had to add a lot more of the ginger, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil to get it really flavorful. The best thing to do it make it a day before and let it sit in the fridge because the next day it was 10 times better. I will make this again. :)
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! My husband has begged me for years to find a hot and sour soup recipe, but 1) there are a million recipes out there, 2) I have no idea what would constitute a good recipe, and 3) I have no idea how to prepare some of the ingredients that many of the soup recipes use. Earlier this week, I googled best hot and sour soup recipe, and your recipe popped up! After seeing that the recipe called for easily found ingredients and after reading all the stellar reviews, I bought the ingredients today and made it. We are both over the moon thrilled with it!!! I did end up doubling the rice vinegar and adding more chili garlic sauce, but the end result would rival any restaurant version. My search is over! Thanks, again!
This was simple and DELICIOUS. Perfect for this cold weather!
Is it really 1/4 cup corn starch? I know I’m mixing it with 1/4 stock…
OMG so good, so easy. The only comment I got was “is there more?” Will make again and spicier.
Made this yesterday and it was phenomenal! Thank you for sharing.
So DELISH!!! Just would kick it up a notch. I like it SPICY.
Hi! How do you make the chicken stock? :)
I made this over the weekend. I added quite a bit of red pepper to give it more kick. I will add a bit more cornstarch the next time, as my husband likes this a bit thicker, but overall, delicious. I will make it again.
Made this tonight. Smiles all round. Will be making this again for sure!
Delicious!!! Made with baby bella & veggie broth…love it!!! Thanks!
So good. Added strips of black fungus. Delicious!!!
This is delicious! We will definitely be making this often.
I used to take my Mother to a Chinese Seafood restaurant in Scarborough , Ontario and they served family style and sized Hot and Sour Soup which was fantastic…As she aged, the spicier the better…perhaps her taste buds were diminishing in responsiveness…anyway, the restaurant served the soup with blimp wonderful 16-20 size shrimp and lots of them…fantastic!
Excellent, will be a keeper
Thank you for sharing… I made it for my husband and he loves the taste so much… quick and easy!
My second hot and sour soup would be more and more beautiful. Awesome!!!!!!
I have been looking for a hot and sour soup recipe that has easy to find ingredients for a long time. This fit the bill and the reviews were great. We do add more rice vinegar and Chili garlic paste. It really is wonderful.
Thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to try some of the recipe others.
AWESOME!
Super good but not sour. What can I add to make it sour?
Feel free to add more vinegar to make it a bit more sour.
This is absolutely delicious! I made it exactly like the recipe the first time which is fantastic but the second time around I got a little jiggy with it. ?
I added bell peppers and onions and then after adding in the egg mixture, then I replaced the tofu with mini chicken and vegetable wontons. I doubled up on the recipe, I always try to make enough for leftovers so we have something easy to cook later in the week. I am feeding a family of four which consists of my very picky 13 year old son, my 28 year old son who is sometimes just as picky and a husband who got a back up meal just in case he didn’t care for it, ha! I served it along with some chow mein noodles and watched in amusement as they all went back multiple times for bowl after bowl. This is the first time in 30 years of marriage we had nothing left, not a drop!
You can’t eat only one serving of this soup. At least two bowls but probably 3! We added a little extra rice vinegar and a little more white pepper and now there is barely any left. Definitely making it again!
When I try to make something I’ve had in a restaurant, it usually comes out somewhat off the mark. But this recipe NAILS it! Not only is it just like the hot and sour soup you get in restaurants, but it’s SUPER quick and easy to make. I also like that almost all of the ingredients can be kept on hand. I only have to remember to buy mushrooms, green onions and tofu. The rest I typically have stocked at home. And it’s very easy to adjust the hot vs. the sour. If you make it, take the time to find the exact ingredients the first time (no substitutions) and you will be good to go for many batches.
I am trying to make this for my keto diet. Do you have any suggestions to replace cornstarch?
Konjac flour is a good choice. Use around a quarter of a teaspoon of glucomannan for every 2 teaspoons of cornstarch you would use. Was I too late? 2 years :(
This is my absolute favorite soup and this recipe looks exactly like the one I get from my favorite Chinese restaurant so totally PINNED and can’t wait to try it.
hi!
i use arrowroot mixed with the broth (same
amounts) and it is fabulous!
Left out tofu, but put in the bamboo shoots. Instead of salt used Thai fish sauce. Goooooood! I collect H&S recipes & make 3 or 4 batches a month.
Sometimes I mix broths, using pork, beef, ham, or seafood, along with chicken. I knew a Taiwanese granny who told me any meat broth works. She also never used the same veggies each time. Lotus root, chestnuts, carrots, peas, pods. I often add extra sourness without extra vinegar by adding citric.
Amazing! Just finished making and eating this deliciousness :) making it again over and over lol
What a tasty look! thanks for sharing. I’m making this recipe this weekend :)