This post Hot and Sour Soup is updated in 2022.
Hot and Sour Soup has only 216 calories. One of the Healthiest mushroom soup recipes around!A Chinese restaurant favourite, it’s hearty, savoury, sour – and as spicy as you want it to be.
Hot and Sour soup, which is rich in mushrooms, tofu, and silky egg ribbons is thickened with cornflour/cornstarch, so that the broth is glossy and beautiful. Serve as a starter with Fried Rice and Kung Pao Chicken, or have it as a meal!
Hot and Sour Soup
Can you handle the heat??
Hot and Sour Soup is what I order when I go out for Chinese and am pretending/trying to be healthy.
Hot and Sour Soup is what I also order, just because I love the flavor.
OK, well along with Spring Rolls, Chinese Corn Soup, San Choy Bow (Lettuce Wraps), Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelettes) and Sesame Toast. It’s an all-out war of indecision, trying to decide what starter to have! #FirstWorldProblems
Before I found this Woks of Life recipe, I had never considered making it at home. It’s my go-to website for Chinese recipes, run by a Chinese American family who used to run a Chinese restaurant!
What is hot and sour soup??
Hot and Sour soup is a Chinese soup that’s savoury, spicy and tangy. The broth is thickened and it’s filled with mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots and silky egg ribbons. This soup is a favorite in Chinese restaurants because of its addictive flavor and texture.
What’s in Hot and Sour Soup?
Soup broth
The Chinese Hot and Sour soup broth uses chicken stock and is flavoured using typical Asian ingredients like soy sauce and sugar. The soup is thickened slightly using cornstarch/cornflour – I love how the glossy broth coats the ingredients when you scoop it up!
Finely chopped dried chillies are what gives the spice. Red pepper / chili flakes can be substituted. You can adjust the spiciness according to your preference!
The Plain white vinegar can make you sour.. Some recipes use Chinese rice vinegar or Chinese black vinegar. But, white vinegar is my personal favorite.
Hot and Sour Soups: What’s the best?
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Dried shiitake mushrooms
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Wood ear mushrooms
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Bamboo shoots
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Tofu firm
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egg
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Shred chicken, or drop in slices tenderised Velvet Chicken
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shallots/scallions
Because there’s a few ingredients that aren’t mainstream here, I’m going to do a quick rundown on each of them. If you’re bored, Skip to the recipe
Skip to the recipe
The Mushrooms
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Dried shiitake mushrooms – dried is best because it has the best flavour, so if you really want one as good as how your favourite Chinese restaurant makes it, you’ll need to source some. These are available at Asian and major supermarkets. Subs: Fresh shiitake is good, followed by any other Asian mushrooms, Swiss Brown/Cremini mushrooms and bringing up the rear is good ole’ white mushrooms
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Wood ear mushrooms – named as such because they are shaped like ears (does that freak you out? 🙀They are soft and crunchy. Wood ear mushrooms don’t have much taste when raw, but they are a great flavour sponge as well as adding great texture to the soup. Use fresh or dried – I use fresh because it’s sold at a local grocery store (eg Harris Farms). Some Asian stores may carry fresh, while others will stock dried. Subs:More shiitake mushrooms
Skip to the recipe
Hot and Sour Soup: The other stuff
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Bamboo shoots – These cans are available at large grocery stores such as Harris, Coles and Woolies. They have a crispy, juicy texture with a subtle taste. This soup is mostly for its texture. Subs: Any vegetable of a similar texture that is easily cut into strips. Use leftovers for stir fries, it’s ideal!
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FIRM Tofu – Make sure it’s a firm tofu otherwise it will disintegrate when stirred. To be certain, squeeze the packet! You can get soft tofu if you handle it delicately and mix it in at the end.
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Chicken – I like to have a bit of protein in my Hot and Sour Soup, plus it’s poached in the broth so it adds flavour. But this is optional – there’s plenty of stuff in this soup even without! Alternatives:Pieces of shrimp/prawns and shrimps
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Eggs – to make the signature silky egg ribbons!
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Shallots – aka scallions, green onions
How to make it happen
Although the ingredients list may seem long, the actual making of the recipe is easy. This recipe also has a bonus: Has a pleasant flow It It should take approximately 40 minutes to complete, including the prep time.
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To rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms, you should first soak them
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Pour the chicken stock into the pot and as it’s coming to the simmer, measure out and add all the flavourings
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While the chicken is poaching, get all the other “stuff” for the soup prepared (chop mushrooms, bamboo shoots etc etc)
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Toss it all in a saucepan and add cornstarch/cornflour to thicken it. Finally, you can make egg ribbons by adding egg to the Hot and Sour Soup.
Calories in Hot and Sour Soup – just 216 calories!!!
A big bowl of spicy-tangy-savoury-hearty deliciousness, and it’s just 216 calories. There are VeryFew Chinese takeout favorites are as healthy as these!
The only other ones I can think of is Chinese Lettuce Wraps (San Choy Bow) and Egg Foo Young, but they aren’t as filling in their own right so when you add a good pile of Fried Rice, it isn’t quite as low cal. 😂
Add ins I’ve been known to add leafy Asian greens and even baby spinach to up the veg quota. I’ve also been known to add rice, to fill it out. It’s really, really good! – Nagi x
PS I give myself a huge pat on the back for finally adding another recipe to my cookbook Recipe collection for low-cal!
Top Chinese Takeout Recipes
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Spring Rolls – better than egg rolls!
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Kung Pao Chicken
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Beef and Broccoli
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Chop Suey (Chicken Stir Fry)
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Chow Mein
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Cashew chicken
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Explore all Chinese recipes
The BEST Chinese Soup for a cold!
Hot and Sour Soup has the best Chinese soup to cure a cold. The clear broth, vinegar and spiciness are ideal for clearing chest and nasal congestion, and it’s a relatively light soup (though full of flavour!) so it’s easy to digest.
So when you want something different to Chicken Noodle Soup or Chicken Rice Soup when you’re feeling under the weather, try Hot and Sour Soup!
How to make it
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Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 220 g / 7oz Chicken breast
- 12 Dry shiitake mushrooms (or 150g/5oz fresh) (Note 1)
- 1/2 Cup Wood ear mushrooms Cut into 1.5cm / 3″ pieces (Note 1)
Soup broth with hot and sour flavors:
- 1 tsp Dry chilli / Red pepper Flakes Adjust spice to your liking (Note 2).
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1 tsp ginger Finely grated
- 1/2 tsp white pepper (sub black)
- 6 cups (1.55L/1.50qt). Stock/broth of chicken or vegetables Low sodium
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1/4 cup (65ml). white vinegar (Adjust to Taste)
Soup:
- 125 g / 4oz Firm tofu (1 cup) , cut into 1.2cm / 0.5″ cubes (Note 4)
- 1/4 Cup Bamboo shoots , thinly sliced. (Note 5)
- 2 eggs Whisked
- 1/4 cup (40g). cornstarch/cornflour
- 1/4 cup (125ml) Water
- Salt to taste
- 1 shallot/scallion Finely sliced
Instructions
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Boil plenty of water to cover shiitake mushrooms. Leave the mushrooms for 20-30 minutes to soften, drain and then slice thinly. Reserve liquid for later use.
Poached chicken
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In a large pan, heat medium-high heat. Add chicken broth, ginger and soy sauces.
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Once it has steamed, add the chicken and cover.
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Cook the chicken for 10 minutes.
Make a soup:
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To the soup, add vinegar and tofu.
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Stir, simmer for 10 minutes.
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Combine cornflour and water. Slowly add the cornflour to the soup, stirring at a moderate pace.
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Once it has started to simmer again, stir continuously and slowly pour the egg in a thin stream. This will create the “egg ribbons”.
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Taste, add salt if needed, and more chilli if desired.
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Add shallots, and serve!
Notes for Recipes
Wood ear mushroomsThey are an essential part of a Chinese restaurant experience. (See post for more information). You can find them in Asian grocery shops (Harris Farms), and at some grocery stores. Once dried, soak with shiitake in water for 30 minutes. Do not skip this step.
2. ChilliThe authentic ones use finely chopped dried Asian chillies. Dehydrate to make them less spicy. You can also use red pepper / chilli powder. It is really hard to taste the difference.
3. Soy sauceSubstitute dark soy with lighter soy or both for all-purpose soy sauce. Do not use just dark soy sauce, broth flavour too strong.
4. TofuIt must be stiff so that it doesn’t break down when the soup is stirred. You can feel the packet. The firmer the better, but not rock-hard! If you find only soft tofu, gently stir it in at the end.
5. Bamboo shootsThis product is sold in slices in tins at Asian grocery shops and large supermarkets. You will need approximately 1/3 of a can 230g/7 oz. Remaining ingredients can be used in stir fries for great texture.
6. Storage / reheatingIt can be kept in the fridge for up to five days. Heat on the stove. Cornflour/cornstarch won’t work well after being frozen so it is important to not freeze the mixture. The solution is simple: just thaw and reheat the mixture. Once it reaches the desired thickness, add more cornflour/water to make it thicker (follow the same recipe steps while stirring).
Nutrition Information:
Dozer Life
Dozer should still be fed a healthy diet that does not include dried dog food. However, you can introduce fresh meat to the diet.).
But if a single bit of kale doesn’t get blitzed up completely, he picks his way around it… #brat
