Try this simple restaurant-style hot and sour soup with deep savory and sour flavors filled with mushrooms, tofu and silky egg ribbons.
Chinese hot and sour soup is a huge weakness of mine and my regular go-to because of the vast myriad of flavors tucked away in its thick broth. You have the chili-spiced broth with its flavor deepened by an intensely sour taste that is really hard to forget but so easy to dive into.
I’ve had a few variations of the hot and sour soup at Chinese buffets but for some reason, they are just not as sour as they’re supposed to be. Not enough to justify the ‘sour’ part in its name anyway. So this easy hot and sour soup recipe emphasizes on the sour and hot part of the soup to give it that intense, unforgettable flavor.
As mentioned, here’s my take, catered to how sour I prefer it. Feel free to add the vinegar in gradual increments to suit your taste as you may not like it as sour as mine. The soup should have a thick consistency with mushrooms and tofu adding texture and egg strands beautifully wrapping up the whole thing.
It may not be as authentic as you’d like. There are many recipes for that on the internet. I just wanted a simple recipe to replicate my favorite soup at home. With that in mind, I used a pre-made chili sauce or Sriracha sauce here but for a more authentic take, you can use Asian dried chilies.
If you ask me, the beauty of this soup is in its silky egg strands. It takes time and practice to perfect this without getting a semi-scrambled egg mess instead but it’s worth it. If you need some pointers on how to go about making egg strands, hop over to my egg drop soup recipe as I’ve explained it there in some detail.
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Easy Hot and Sour Soup
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Try this simple restaurant-style hot and sour soup with deep savory and sour flavors filled with mushrooms, tofu and silky egg ribbons.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup button mushrooms, cut into matchsticks
- 1/2 cup tofu, cut into matchsticks
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons chili sauce/Sriracha sauce
- 3 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 8 tablespoons cold water
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Combine the chicken stock, ginger, soy sauce and chili paste in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Slow stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the soup thickens.
- Add mushrooms, tofu, vinegar and sesame oil and stir gently, simmering for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and slowly drizzle in egg mixture, constantly stirring with a fork.
- Dish and serve hot.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Comments & Reviews
My husband and I both just loved this soup. I appreciated your suggestions and followed your amounts on sirrachi sauce and vinegar. Then added a bit more of each after tasting. Wasn’t sure what kind of tofu to use – never bought it. Was advised to use silken – it was good but think I’ll use firmer type next time – and there will be a next time 😋
I’d love to make this but my partner is allergic to eggs. Will it work if I just leave the egg out, or can you recommend a substitute?
It will work without the egg strands although that’s a huge part of the hot and sour soup!
What can you use in place of a Dutch Oven if you don’t have one?
Any stock pot will do too. Just a pot big enough to accommodate 8 cups of chicken stock plus some fillings. If you don’t have something big enough, you can also scale down the recipe by half! Thanks for trying out and old recipe of mine 🙂
Have you ever frozen this?
No, I have only frozen lentil soups before, this one doesn’t last long enough for me to have leftovers.
one of the indo chinese soups which i just love. this is a must whenever we order chinese food. but we have the vegetarian version.
Agreed, I cannot enjoy a Chinese buffet without this.