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.
Very easy to make and very delicious.
For someone who does not make food from scratch, I found the recipe easy to follow and the soup was lovely. I now have some in the freezer for future enjoyment.
Question, if I used cooked pork, can I freeze and reheat this?
Hi Dave, yes you can 🙂
Love this recipe!! The broth is excellent and I love all of the different add-ins people have tried! Can’t wait to try them myself!
I loved it! I'll make it again and again. This is one of my favorite soups and I never tried to make it as I thought it was difficult and... I don't like tofu so... I just added a thin sliced zucchini at first so it could cook a little bit, then I added the thickening juices, mushrooms, chopped green onions and beaten egg. Yum!!!
A lovely balance of flavors for sure but I miss the usual "extras" including wood ear (dried black tree fungus), golden needles (dried Lily buds), and bamboo shoots. This was the version taught to me by Chef Ben Lin back in the 70s. It might not be a science project but it surely looks like one!
Went to restaurant in Spain and had hot and sour soup as a starter. It was ok, but your soup is twice as good with lots more flavour. I put Chinese cabbage in mine, and a small amount of thread noodles, That’s me sorted for the day. I keep lots in stock, in the event of nuclear war.haaaha
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!
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!
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!
Totally awesome. It was so delicious and favourful that i made a second batch the next day. Thank you for a great recipe.