Hot and Sour Soup is the ultimate comfort food when it comes to Chinese take-out, and this recipe is just like the kind found in restaurants! It's the perfect combination of spicy and savoury, is healthy, hearty and perfect for days when you need a hug from the inside out. 😋
I hope you enjoy this recipe! ❤️ If you give it a try, please let me know how it turned out for you in the comments section at the bottom of the page or share a pic of your om noms on Instagram and tag @dishesanddustbunnies! ❤️
Get the Recipe at the bottom of the page!
What ingredients are in authentic hot and sour soup?
A few important ingredients give the traditional hot and sour soup its unique flavour, and you should be able to find them in most grocery stores. Here are the main ingredients that will create the perfect homemade Chinese hot and sour soup:
- Broth – any broth or stock is fine to use in the recipe but most commonly used is chicken stock (like I used for this recipe).
- Mushrooms – The most common mushrooms used in hot and sour soup are dried Shitake and Wood ear mushrooms rehydrated in boiling water, drained, then sliced thinly.
- Shitake mushrooms are those large capped mushrooms that are dark in color.
- Wood ear mushrooms look like wavy black ribbons and can be found in Asian grocery stores – they're also commonly known as “black fungus.” I used pre-cut strips like the ones found here.
- Proteins – The most common proteins used in a classic hot and sour soup are thin cut strips of pork tenderloin (julienned) and cubes of extra firm tofu.
- Bamboo shoots – for this recipe, I used canned bamboo shoots cut into thin strips. These add a nice bite and texture to the soup.
- Beaten eggs – One or two beaten eggs are added at the very end of cooking. The eggs are poured very slowly into the soup while quickly whisking clockwise. This will create tiny ribbons of cooked egg in the soup. It's important to avoid cooking them in chunks, so whisk fast while pouring the eggs slowly.
How to make Hot and Sour Soup
Although there are quite are few steps to make hot and sour soup, you'll find it's actually quite easy to make! Before you begin, please be sure to gather all your ingredients and have them ready to go.
Be sure to read through the recipe (found at the bottom of the page) a few times before starting!
To begin making your hot and sour soup, rehydrate the mushrooms in boiling water for at least 30 minutes or until softened. Drain them, allow them to cool and cut them into thin strips. To save on time, it's best if you rehydrate your mushrooms while you prepare your chicken broth with the bouquet garni (cheesecloth pouch with seasonings).
More about how to make and use a bouquet garni below. Don't worry! It's super easy!
Cheesecloth (bouquet garni) containing garlic, onions, peppercorns, etc Removing and straining the bouquet garni after boiling in chicken broth
What is a bouquet garni and how to use it to flavour Hot and Sour Soup
A bouquet garni is a pouch made from cheesecloth and filled with seasonings, veggies, etc to flavour the broth. This allows you to infuse the flavours of the ingredients into the broth without having to leave the physical pieces behind.
To make a bouquet garni, all you have to do is wrap cheesecloth around the required ingredients, make sure there are no opens so nothing falls out, tie a knot and add it to your broth while simmering. I like to clip the bouquet garni to the pot, so it's easily removed.
When removing the bouquet garni, it's a good idea to put it in a strainer over the pot, so all the yummy concentrated flavours go back into the pot. You can give the bouquet a little squeeze with a ladle to push out more flavoured broth.
What to do if you don't have cheesecloth to make a bouquet garni – You can place the ingredients for the bouquet garni directly in the broth and simmer according to the recipe. Once it's time to remove them, fish everything out using a slotted spoon or similar tool. Your broth should be clear and have no bits of anything left behind.
garlic chili sauce, ginger, garlic powder, sugar, etc. This is added to the pan that the pork has been fried in, then poured into the chicken broth.
Once the chicken broth has been flavoured, and the bouquet garni has been removed and strained, it's time to fry the strips of pork tenderloin in a little canola oil.
When the pork has nicely seared and browned, remove them from the pan and add a mixture of rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic chili sauce, etc. and bring to a boil. This mixture is then added to the seasoned chicken broth.
This creates that wonderful hot and sour flavour this soup is known for! 😋
Next, the rest of the ingredients are added back to the soup; the pork, bamboo shoots, tofu and mushrooms.
After the ingredients have simmered for a bit and all have had a chance to mingle and work together, it's time to add the beaten egg to create tiny little ribbons. All you have to do to create the egg ribbons is pour the egg very slowly as you whisk the soup quickly in a clockwise direction. Since the soup will be moving quickly, the eggs will cook in tiny, tiny strips rather than chunks.
Get the Recipe at the bottom of the page!
Once the egg ribbons have cooked, serve immediately and garnish with chopped green onions. The green onions add a beautiful pop of color to the soup but also a nice fresh crunch for texture when you're enjoying those spoonfuls! 😋
How can I make Hot and sour soup Vegetarian or Vegan?
The first time I ever tasted hot and sour soup was in a restaurant here in Toronto called Buddha's Vegetarian and it was actually vegan! The recipe in this post is not vegetarian, but you can definitely modify it to suit your needs!
Here's how to make your hot and sour soup vegetarian or vegan:
- Substitute chicken stock for vegetable broth
- Exclude the pork tenderloin
- To make vegan, skip the eggs
Get the Recipe at the bottom of the page!
What to serve with Hot & Sour Soup
Practically any Asian or Chinese-inspired dishes and appetizers go very well along with the hot and sour soup. I tried this soup for the first time at a Hong Kong style family restaurant here in Toronto's Chinatown, and it's most often served along with a bunch of other yummy things. 😋 Hot and sour soup is satisfying as a meal by itself, but having some in a small bowl along with a whole feast of Asian dishes is how I like to do things!
Here are some other delicious recipes that go well with hot and sour soup:
- Honey Garlic Chicken – This one is a reader favourite!
- Baked Honey Garlic Chicken Wings
- General Tso's Chicken Wings
- Crab Rangoon Cups
- Easy Chicken Chow Mein
- Ginger Sesame Bok Choy
- Vegetable Beef Stir Fry
- Stir Fried Singapore Noodles
- Ginger and Garlic Shrimp Noodle Stir Fry
- Restaurant Style Beef and Broccoli
- Thai Chicken Satay Skewers
- Thai Mango Salad
- Spring rolls and egg rolls
- Pot Stickers
- Fried rice
Hot and Sour Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 oz dried Wood ear mushrooms (also known as “black fungus mushrooms”) – You can purchase these as precut strips or whole (usually sold in a vacuum-sealed bag). Precut or whole, either option is fine, but I find it more convenient to use the precut kind. I used wood ear mushrooms like the ones found here.
- 1 oz dried shitake mushrooms
- 12 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 lb – 1 lb of pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
- 2 tbsps canola oil
- 1 cup bamboo shoots, thinly sliced – I use the ones in the can and rinse them first
- 1 lb extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1–2 large eggs, beaten and set aside until needed
- 3 tbsps cornstarch combined with 1/2 cup of water, combined so there are no lumps
- 1 bunch of green onions, green parts chopped and set aside for garnish
For the bouquet garni:
These ingredients are placed into a bouquet garni (cheesecloth bundle) and simmered in the chicken broth. Please see the notes section below for more details.
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 12 black peppercorns
- cheesecloth, to bundle the ingredients with – if you don't have cheesecloth, please see my note at the bottom of this recipe
For the soup flavouring:
- 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce (you can use more if you like it really spicy) –
It's the jar with the green lid and chicken logo on it, sometimes called sambal oelek. You can find this in most grocery stores these days, found near the Sriracha hot sauce. - 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Instructions
- Boil the mushrooms in water for at least 30 minutes or until softened. Drain water from the mushrooms and allow them to cool. You can go about the other steps of the recipe while waiting. Cut mushrooms into thin strips and set aside until needed.
- I do this simultaneously as I rehydrate the mushrooms on another stove burner to keep things as quick as possible. Make a bouquet garni or cheesecloth pouch (see notes at the bottom of the recipe) using garlic, yellow onion, green onions and the 12 black peppercorns. Place the bouquet garni/cheesecloth pouch with ingredients into a large soup pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Pull the bouquet garni out of the broth and allow it to drain in a strainer over the pot for a few minutes. We need to keep those tasty liquids! You can use a ladle to push and squeeze out more yummy flavours.
Simmer the chicken broth on low until needed. - I
n a large frying pan or skillet, sear the strips of pork in canola oil. Make sure to brown up the sides on the strips to bring out more flavour. Be careful not to burn them, though. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside until needed. - Next to the pan, add the rice vinegar/soup flavouring mixture from the ingredients section above. Bring to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add this mixture into the soup pot with the chicken broth, combine. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, cooked pork and cornstarch mixture. Combine and heat on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
- In this step, we add the egg ribbons. To do this, stir the soup clockwise while VERY VERY slowly adding the beaten eggs. Pour the eggs slowly while whisking fast– the eggs should be cooking as tiny ribbons in the broth, not chunks of egg.
- Serve immediately, with garnishes of green onions on top.
n a large frying pan or skillet, sear the strips of pork in canola oil. Make sure to brown up the sides on the strips to bring out more flavour. Be careful not to burn them, though. Remove the pork from the pan and set aside until needed.Recipe adapted from Dinner, then Dessert.
Notes
What is a bouquet garni? – A bouquet garni is a pouch made from cheesecloth and filled with seasonings, veggies, etc., to flavour broth, etc. This allows you to infuse the flavours of the ingredients into the broth without having to leave the physical pieces behind. To make a bouquet garni, all you have to do is wrap cheesecloth around the required ingredients, make sure there are no opens, so nothing falls out, tie a knot and add it to your broth while simmering. I like to clip the bouquet garni to the pot, so it's easily removed.
When removing the bouquet garni, it's a good idea to put it in a strainer over the pot, so all the yummy concentrated flavours go back into the pot. You can give the bouquet a little squeeze with a ladle to push out more flavoured broth.
What to do if you don't have cheesecloth to make a bouquet garni – You can place the ingredients for the bouquet garni directly in the broth and simmer according to the recipe. Once it's time to remove them, fish everything out using a slatted spoon or similar tool. You broth should be clear and have no bits of anything left behind.
To make Vegetarian/Vegan- Substitute chicken stock for vegetable broth and exclude the pork tenderloin. To make vegan, skip the eggs.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Chinese
