Here’s a classic Hot and Sour Soup recipe — bold, savory, tangy, and ready in about 30 minutes.
🍜 Hot and Sour Soup
⏱ Time
- Prep: 10 minutes
- Cook: 15–20 minutes
- Total: ~30 minutes
🍽 Serves: 4
🛒 Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced (shiitake or button)
- ½ cup bamboo shoots, julienned
- ½ cup firm tofu, cut into thin strips
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½–1 tsp white pepper (for authentic heat)
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (optional but recommended)
- 1–2 tsp chili garlic sauce or sambal (optional for extra spice)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water (slurry)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 green onions, sliced
- Salt to taste
🔥 Instructions
- Bring broth to a simmer in a large pot.
- Add vegetables & tofu:
Stir in mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, ginger, soy sauce, and white pepper. Simmer 5–7 minutes. - Thicken the soup:
Stir the cornstarch slurry and slowly pour it in while stirring. Simmer until slightly thickened. - Add the egg ribbons:
Slowly drizzle in beaten egg while gently stirring the soup in one direction to create ribbons. - Finish with flavor:
Stir in rice vinegar, sesame oil, and chili sauce (if using). Adjust sourness or heat to taste. - Garnish with green onions and serve hot.
🌶 Flavor Tips
- More sour? Add extra rice vinegar.
- More heat? Increase white pepper or chili sauce.
- Want it richer? Add a splash of black vinegar for deeper flavor.
🥢 Protein Variations
- Add shredded chicken
- Thin slices of pork
- Make it vegetarian with veggie broth and extra mushrooms
If you’d like, I can also give you a restaurant-style version, a slow cooker version, or a super-authentic Chinese black vinegar version.
