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.
Absolutely NO, and I mean ZERO chili pepper belongs in hot sour soup. 100% of the heat comes from white pepper, you will need a lot of it.
This recipe is amazing. I regularly crave hot and sour soup in the winter but this is the first recipe I’ve attempted myself. No more carry out for me! I do doctor it a bit, after making it a few times. I add very thinly sliced cooked chicken, and I reduce the amount of ginger by half. I also up the vinegar and chili garlic cause I like extra spicy and sour. Sooooo good. And sooo easy I can make it at lunchtime!
All I taste is ginger.
You more garlic chili sauce.
Use more garlic chili sauce.
Excellent recipe. I used a little more chilli sauce and pork instead of tofu. It was amazing!!!
Thank you!😋😋😋
I definitely recommend this recipe! I added more vegetables. I added baby corn, water chestnuts, shredded carrots and bean sprouts. Also, sprinkled some crushed red pepper for more kick. Will make this again!
I have made this soup many times and I will keep on making it. I add spinach and cilantro. It is extremely good!
Delicious! Super easy to make.
I’m not even finished cooking the soup and my kitchen smells delicious. I could not wait, I scooped out some broth and cannot wait to pour myself a bowl.
Wow this soup was amazing!! Will defiantly be making it again!! Not a big fan of tofu, so I put in some extra bamboo instead. Also added some thin chopped bok choy!
Very tasty, and very easy to make. I added extra vinegar and chili sauce for extra kick, and a sheet of nori for a little texture. Will definitely make again. Thanks!
This was DELICIOUS and incredibly easy, made from things I always have. I had the right mushrooms but certainly could be made with any kind. I doubled the heat and added an additional healthy splash of vinegar to my taste. A one pot meal for this super snowy Boston blizzard.
Just finished making this! It is better than take out and I’m obsessed with hot and sour soup.
I doubled the recipe and added just a bit of diced onion and thinly sliced red cabbage. I ended up adding extra vinegar and chili sauce to my liking but this recipe is amazing!
Just a tip: make sure you truly are stirring in the egg thin and slow. I went too fast and as a result my soup looks kind of mucky and doesn’t have the good ribbons. It tastes great though!
Thank you very much. It came out delicious.
I did end using twice as much rice vinegar to make it more tart. And quite a bit of white pepper. But that’s just us.
The second time I made it a little more substantial, almost into an entree. Added julienned pork loin velveted with baking soda and soy sauce, sauteed until nicely browned. And I baked the diced tofu in the oven until it was browned and very firm. It held it’s shape in the soup instead of breaking apart.
Only issue I keep having is the eggs. Instead of streams I end up with a tasty egg scum that isn’t all that pleasing to the eye. Must be my technique. Next time I will try cooking the eggs separately as I do for fried rice and then breaking it into small pieces to add.
Thank you again!