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 stuff is amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe!! It's even better than take out. The only change we made to the recipe was swapping tofu for chicken. Super delicious and so easy to make. Recipe is a keeper for sure!! 💗
It’s delicious. I didn’t use siracha. I used chili garlic hot sauce. This will be a go to soup now. No more take out.
I loved this. Beef broth tastes better than chicken broth. I skipped the siracha and added garlic, sliced ginger, and thinly sliced red pepper and matchstick cut pork loin. Delicious!
Just what I look for at an Asian Restaurant
It’s a bit too spicy so I’m gonna try cutting the hot sauce down and see what happens. I was really surprised by how easy this recipe turned out
My husband has tried several recipes for this soup but didn’t care for any of them. He wanted something that was similar to the soup he gets at a local restaurant…. darker in color and sweeter so I went on the hunt and found this one made with beef broth instead of chicken. And he loved it! Said it was even better than the restaurant’s. I used shiitake mushrooms, dark soy sauce and reduced the amount of pepper to 1/2 tsp. because, even though he loves lots of pepper (in everything!) he said it didn’t need more. I didn’t have rice vinegar but did have Shaoxing wine so I used 1 oz. of that and 1 oz. of white vinegar to substitute and added 1 tsp. of sesame oil. I have never commented on the many recipes I’ve tried because I usually do a lot of adjusting but this one is perfect. Thank you.
Hi Elaine, we are so happy you and your husband enjoyed this recipe!
This is the best Hot n sour soup recipe I have been able to find, it is exactly how I like it, thick and spicy
M husband is having chemo. One of the few things he can taste is Hot and Sour Soup from the local Chinese place. I found your recipe and it is fantastic! I followed it exactly… My husband raved about how it tastes just like the restaurant. Thank you.
We are so happy he enjoyed this recipe!
Excellent soup, and so easy,!
I added mushrooms and bamboo shoots.
It was very tasty.
Thanks for the recipe!