Hot and Sour Soup
This restaurant-style Hot and Sour Soup recipe is quick and easy to make. You won't believe the rich, flavorful broth you'll develop in under 20 minutes!
It's the perfect recipe for a quick weeknight dinner and is much better than takeout!
Many people love hot and sour soup, which is rich and flavorful and can be eaten as an appetizer before a meal or as the main dish.
You don't have to go to a Chinese restaurant to enjoy a hearty hot and sour soup bowl. You'll be surprised at just how easy it is to make!
If you like quick and easy soup recipes, check out our chicken noodle soup, broccoli cheese soup, and homemade tomato soup, too.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Broth: Beef broth adds a rich flavor to this soup, but chicken stock or chicken broth can also be used.
- Mushrooms: White mushrooms are easy to find and work great in this recipe. If you can get your hands on some, fresh Shiitake mushrooms will give the soup a more authentic flavor. Dried mushrooms can also be used in place of fresh mushrooms.
- Soy Sauce: You can choose between low-sodium and regular soy sauce. When using soy sauce, you don't need to add extra salt.
- Rice Vinegar: White vinegar can be substituted for rice wine vinegar.
- Hot Sauce: Using a hot sauce such as sriracha sauce or chili garlic paste will give you the best flavor for this Asian-style recipe.
- White Pepper: This ingredient really enhances the soup's flavor. I don't recommend substituting black pepper.
- Eggs/Tofu: Eggs and slices of tofu make up the bulk of the protein in this soup. If you don't like tofu, just omit it; it's no big deal. You can leave out the tofu altogether or substitute it with cooked chicken, pork, or beef.
- Corn Starch: A cornstarch slurry thickens the soup; it can be substituted with arrowroot powder or tapioca starch.
- Green onions: You can use green onions, scallions, or chives.
- Optional garnishes: Bamboo shoots, a drizzle of sesame oil
Instructions
Step 1: In a pot, bring the broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha sauce, and white pepper to a boil, then turn down to medium heat for 5 minutes.
Step 2: Whisk the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl to make a slurry. Stir it into the soup and simmer for 5 minutes or until it thickens.
Step 3: Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Then, pour them into the soup while gently stirring to create the silky egg ribbons.
Step 4: Add the tofu and green onions, stir, and remove from heat. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. Garnish with extra green onions.
How to Store
Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. After that, you can freeze the soup for up to 3 months. Reheat leftovers on the stovetop or in the microwave.
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Hot and Sour Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 6 cups beef broth
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup soy sauce (regular or reduced sodium)
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (arrowroot or tapioca starch)
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 2 large eggs (well beaten)
- 6 oz. firm tofu (sliced into thin strips)
- 2 green onions (sliced)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Simmer: Bring the broth to a simmer over medium high heat in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha sauce and white pepper. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Thicken: In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and cold water to make the slurry. Add it to the soup and stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the soup starts to thicken.
- Swirl in the eggs: Pour the beaten eggs into the soup while gently stirring the soup in a circular motion.
- Add tofu: Add the sliced tofu and green onions, stir and remove the saucepan from the heat. Serve immediately.
NOTES
- To Store: Keep in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Freeze: It can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
- To Reheat: Thaw completely and heat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
This was delicious!! I used it for the main structure, subbing in cubed baked chicken breast for tofu, I was very generous with the mushrooms, using fresh shiitake and cremini, with some more dried porcini and morels. At the end of the cook I added half tbsp of toasted sesame oil just for the extra nutty umami. It was a fantastic recipe, and the perfect comfort after our first big snow storm of the winter!
(My best friend made it as well for her family. Everyone loved it. She used some shredded roast chicken in place of tofu- hard to find here- and she added udon noodles with great results. Fast and easy, especially when using chicken leftovers!)
So delicious we added more of everything because my family eats a lot and they loveeeeddd it even my youngest
This recipe is perfect! Maybe even better than the restaurant! And you can even skip the tofu if you’d like.
This soup is delicious but I used beef bouillon cubes so it made it really beefy and salty. Could I just add more vinegar to give it the sour taste? and how much should I add? I don't want to ruin it because I've been dying for an easy hot and sour soup at home.
Love the soup
I’ve made it many times, everyone that has had it really enjoys it. The hotter the better for me but I tone it down a bit for others.
Very healthy and I add a few extra veggies occasionally. Very versatile 😊
So easy! I did sub tofu for leftover chicken and bamboo shoots, otherwise all the same. Hubs likes it hot so he add chili sauce too.
This soup is absolutely awesome...
The best hot and sour I’ve ever made. I’ll make again and again. Yum!
wow all these years with my favorite chinese restaurants closing. this soup kicks a**. i doubled with soy sauce from china garlic chili paste and the vinegar. nothing compares. thank you thank you thank you i love this. you saved me 10.00 a quart from now on.. you are the best...
This recipe was so easy and exceptionally delicious! It was better than any hot and sour we’ve had from takeout in years. The only thing I’d caution is the 1 tablespoon of Sriracha makes it extremely hot, so you might want to adjust that if your taste buds can’t handle pretty spicy 🙂
Other than that, all in all such an easy wonderful recipe !
Now I wonder why I ever ordered takeout?