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 it's so much better than take-out!
Hot and Sour Soup is a favorite menu item for many people. Eaten as an appetizer before a meal or as the main dish, it's a rich and flavorful soup that's hard to beat.
Luckily, you don't have to go to the restaurant to enjoy a hearty bowl of hot and sour soup. You'll be surprised at just how easy it is to make!
If you like quick and easy soup recipes make sure to 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 broth can be used as well.
- Mushrooms - White mushrooms are easy to find and work great in this recipe. Shiitake mushrooms will give the soup a more authentic flavor if you can get your hands on some.
- Soy Sauce - Reduced sodium or regular soy sauce.
- Rice Wine 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 makes a difference in the flavor of the soup. I don't recommend substituting with black pepper.
- Eggs/Tofu - Eggs make up the bulk of protein in this soup along with slices of tofu. If you don't like tofu, just omit it, no big deal. You can leave out the tofu all together or substitute it with cooked chicken, pork or beef.
- Corn Starch - Used to thicken the soup, it can be substituted with arrow root powder or tapioca starch.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Simmer the broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha sauce and white pepper over medium heat for 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch and cold water together to make a slurry. Stir it into the soup and simmer for 5 minutes or until the soup starts to thicken.
Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. Pour them into the soup while gently stirring to create the egg "ribbons".
Add the tofu and green onions, stir and remove from heat.
Storage
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.
More easy soup recipes
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.
Suzy Myers says
We LOVE to cook and out of several, this is by far the best hot and sour soup recipe and the only one we have without "do next time" notes. It's absolutely great as is, or when subbing or adding bamboo shoots, rice noodles. . . shrimp, baby portabellas etc. Oh, and it's easy to make; not a science project!
Deborah Kern says
I love Hot and Sour soup and decided to try it at home. I made your recipe tonight for dinner and it tastes EXACTLY like what you buy in a restaurant! It was easy to make and can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for posting this!
Sharon Davidson says
I liked it and will use it again. I did add MANY more mushrooms, all shiitaki and some cool mushrooms I found at our market, Bunapi mushrooms which are SO tasty. Because I like my hot and sour more "sour," I added more soy sauce and rice vinegar, as well. And I like more meaty a recipe, so I always add leftover pork roast as well. Did not like the flavor of the garlic chili paste, but that's my fault, so next time, will find another item to bring the heat! I am doing a Keto thing, so I didn't thicken it with cornstarch and didn't miss it at all, but I realize most folks will want that testure. Good recipe! Thanks!
Sheila says
Totally awesome. It was so delicious and favourful that i made a second batch the next day. Thank you for a great recipe.