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.
- Rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, ground ginger: To flavor the broth.
- Cornstarch: To thicken the broth.
- 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:
- The BEST Fried Rice
- 12-Minute Chicken & Broccoli
- 20-Minute Moo Shu Pork (or Chicken)
- Beef & Broccoli
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Sesame Noodles with Broccoli and Almonds
- Black Pepper Chicken
More Favorite Soup Recipes:
If you love egg drop soup, feel free to check out these other favorite soup recipes:
Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms (or baby bella mushrooms), thinly-sliced with stems discarded
- 1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar, or more to taste
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 8 ounces firm tofu*, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- Kosher salt and white pepper (or black pepper)
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!This post contains affiliate links.
Loved this recipe! Super simple and easy to follow. If you’re only cooking for 1-2 people, you may want to cut the recipe in half. I also listened to some of the other reviews and added more rice vinegar, soysauce, and garlic chili sauce. Otherwise, it’s perfect ☺️
This soup is amazing! So fast and so easy.For protein, I use a mixture of half firm tofu and half rare grilled pork tenderloin cut into matchsticks. Shitakes are a must and I use fresh ginger root as well. Garnish with hot oil is a must!
I’m a hot n sour soup junkie too. Lol. Just made this and its great! Perfect amount of tofu, and mushrooms. (I never get enough of those from the local restaurant) I substituted xantham gum for the cornstarch for lower carb, and added more heat for my taste. Very yummy!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!! I love it?
Made this tonight for the second time and what a great recipe. I did make a couple of changes this time though. I used a heaping tablespoon of the garlic chili, a 1/4 cup rice vinegar and a 1/4 cup black vinegar and had some pork which I sauteed and added and a can of bamboo shoots. Great either as the original recipe or with the few changes. Also, more than a pinch of of white pepper! Thank you!
My 12 year old son made this first-we LOVED it-only had to add some more vinegar and chili sauce to our taste. SO, now we double it for our family of 5, add chopped baby bok choy for some greenery and make homemade wonton strips to put on top. So glad we found this recipe!!
This is a great place to start for Hot and Sour soup recipe. I made 1.5 recipe for 4 people. Although I added chicken, this did have too much tofu for 1.5 recipes, so def need to half the tofu if not more. Additionally, this needed much more vinegar, and a touch more soy, and a lot more heat to be a true HOT and SOUR soup. Finally, hot and sour soup is not right without bamboo shoots, do not leave this out, and if anything use 1.5 to 2 cans instead of just 1. Was delicious, of course, but I felt there was too much to be tweaked at the same time.
My first time attempting to make and by nature I am not a stellar cook, but this recipe turned out great! Added a little more chili sauce because we like it on the hotter side. Thank you for sharing this!
I thought this had WAY too much tofu. I also cut the mushrooms back a little. We like ours spicy so I added more chili garlic sauce and white pepper. I also like Mongolian Fire Oil in it.
Can you freeze this soup? It is my favorite soup but I am the only one that loves it
The best hot and sour soup I had was in a small town in Virginia. It was a family run business. When I moved back to Florida, I thought, I’ll have plenty of places here to find the flavors of that soup. No, I’ve tried a dozen places and have been back in Florida for 17 years. I am also a cook who catered @ 26 parties a year for 50-100 people, so I was being picky about the ingredients. . This is exactly what I was looking for and I did use pork and tofu .I will be freezing portions as well! Awesome job Ali!!!
Recommend!
I am new to Hot and Sour Soup. I always decline it at the restaurant and request extra eggrolls. But recently the waiter brought a bowl anyway and it was so good and smelled wonderful – I decided to cook a lot. This recipe was very easy! It took no time at all to prepare.
Sooooo delicious ?
Yes! I froze it and it reheated excellent.
Just made this literally 10 minutes ago. Soo good, thank you so much. I am a hot and sour soup junkie, and have never before seen a recipe I felt comfortable making. Just a tad more vinegar and a touch more heat for my tastes. This will be my go-to from now on!
Loved this recipe! Makes a lot of soup. We get a grab bag of wild mushrooms at the farmers market and add them all.