Have a nourishing hot and sour soup filled with your favorite ingredients, whether it is a cold winter day or you simply love an easy-to-make starter. This version is packed with healthy ingredients, such as tofu, enoki mushrooms, carrots, and wood ear mushrooms. You gotta love its playful flavors and textures – spicy, tangy, creamy, and silky!
What To Love About Hot And Sour Soup
Looking for the perfect restaurant-style soup as your starter? Hot and sour soup fits the bill as it is filled with light but nutritious ingredients. I love how you can easily switch things up, whether you prefer to make it hotter, tangier, meat-filled, or all-veggie.
For my hot and sour soup version, I incorporated strips of tofu for protein, enoki mushrooms, carrots, ham, and chunks of wood ear mushrooms. What makes this hot and spicy is the chopped dried peppers and white pepper powder. Then, the flavor is tweaked with vinegar for that delightful sour taste.
Similar to my Seaweed Egg Drop Soup recipe, I added beaten eggs at the end for a soft and fluffy texture. It is seasoned to perfection with pantry ingredients, such as light soy sauce, green onions, ginger, and salt. Serve this with other Chinese dishes, such as Stir-Fried Chinese Sticky Rice, Lap Cheong Chow Fan, Chinese Chicken On A Stick, or Traditional Chinese Beef Chow Fun.
Need more delicious soup ideas? Here are a few soup recipes worth trying!
- Black Chicken Soup Recipe (Chinese Silkie Chicken)
- Beef Wontons With Soup
- Pork And Shrimp Wonton Soup
- Sweet Red Bean Soup With Sago (红豆西米露)
- Chicken Feet Soup
- Green Bean Dessert Soup
Personalize The Soup With These Tips
Change the soup according to your taste and preference, whether you like it hotter, more sour, or in between. If you are following a certain diet, simply alternate the ingredients to suit your needs. Go for an all-veggie soup using tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables, or something meaty by adding ham, eggs, and shrimp.
It is a flexible soup that is easy to personalize. For ingredient tips and alternatives, don’t skip this part yet. Here are things you need to know about each ingredient:
- Tofu: Tofu has many variations, including silken, firm, extra firm, baked, and fermented. It is up to you if you want a soft, firm, or fried tofu. For my version, I sliced the tofu into rectangular strips. It is easier to slice it into strips if you are using firm or extra firm tofu, which is also called momen, cotton, or aang dou fu. If you want to make it extra crispy, you can fry the tofu until golden brown and crispy before adding to the soup. Fried tofu strips or cubes can also be used as a topping for the soup. You won’t be able to do this with soft or silken tofu, which is also known as kinu, nèndòufu, or yeon-dubu. I also don’t really recommend silken tofu since it is so soft that it will eventually disintegrate in the soup as you stir.
- Mushrooms:I used enoki mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms are usually white with long and thin stems and white or brown caps. It tastes mildly sweet and earthy with a crunchy texture. For the wood ear mushrooms, you can get these in dried or fresh. If using dried wood ear mushrooms, these have to be rehydrated until soft before adding to the soup. You’ll love wood ear mushrooms for their woody taste and jelly-like chewy texture. It easily absorbs all the flavors of the soup, making it a flavorful ingredient. Aside from enoki and wood ear mushrooms, I recommend incorporating other types of mushrooms, such as dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and straw mushrooms.
- Carrot strips: The main vegetable I used are strips of carrots cut in julienne. Alternatively, other strips of vegetables are doable, such as bamboo shoots, bell peppers, green beans, shredded cabbage, broccoli stems, cauliflower stems, yu choy, or Chinese broccoli.
- Ham: If you want to add meat, you can use strips of ham. Other meat options to add are shredded chicken or julienned pork shoulder.
- Ginger: The soup is flavored with ginger for a peppery and warming kick. You can cut it into thin slices or cubes. The cut of the ginger doesn’t really matter since these are removed after boiling in water. Swap fresh ginger with ground ginger if you don’t have fresh but still want a taste of ginger. Use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger for every 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.
- Green onion: Another flavoring ingredient for the soup base is chopped green onions or spring onions. It adds a mildly sweet and onion taste. If you don’t have green onions, you can substitute this ingredient with chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions. Again, these are also removed from the soup once the flavors are fully absorbed by the soup.
- Red dried peppers: The hot and spicy flavors come from chopped dried peppers. You can also use fresh peppers and adjust the spiciness to your liking. Aside from dried peppers, swap these with green chili peppers, chili flakes, chili powder, chili garlic sauce, or cayenne pepper powder.
- Seasonings: I seasoned the soup with light soy sauce, salt, white pepper powder, and vinegar. Then, I added a cornstarch slurry to thicken its consistency a bit.
- Light soy sauce: Light soy sauce is best for a salty and umami soup base. The closest substitute to this is dark soy sauce, which is thicker and a bit sweeter than light soy sauce. Other types of soy sauce to use are tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- Salt: Salt brings out the flavors and enhances the soup. You can use sea salt, pink salt, or kosher salt.
- White pepper powder: Unlike black pepper, white pepper is earthier and mustier and imparts a subtle hot taste. If you don’t have white pepper, swap it with black pepper, but the taste will be woody, piney, and hot.
- Vinegar: It is the vinegar that makes the soup sour. You can use plain white vinegar. But if you want to make it more Asian, go for Chinese black vinegar or Zhenjiang vinegar. Chinese black vinegar is dark and has a fruity, tangy, and slightly sweet taste. Other types of vinegar to consider are apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, and rice wine vinegar.
- A bowl of water: I added a large bowl of water for the soup base. You can use plain water or mushroom water from the soaked dried mushrooms (if using dried mushrooms). If using plain water, it can be seasoned by adding chicken, vegetable, or pork cubes or powder. Another excellent alternative to plain water is broth, including vegetable, chicken, or pork broth.
- Cornstarch slurry: The soup is thickened with cornstarch slurry made with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water (1:2 ratio). If you do not use cornstarch slurry, the soup base will not be thick and creamy. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can substitute 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of tapioca flour or 1 tablespoon of potato starch.
- Optional seasonings: You can drizzle some toasted sesame oil for an extra Asian nutty taste. Use sake for something fruity with a hint of umami. If you need to balance out the flavors, adding about a tablespoon of sugar helps.
- Eggs: Similar to my Seaweed Egg Drop Soup, I poured the beaten eggs for a lovely egg ribbon appearance. The eggs are added after putting in strips of vegetables and meat and once the water boils. If you want an all-veggie soup, you can omit this or make a tofu scramble alternative instead. To make the tofu scramble, use drained firm or extra firm tofu. Break the tofu apart in chunks and cook it with nutritional yeast (optional), turmeric (for yellow color), black salt (for eggy taste), garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, soy milk (optional for moisture), and a bit of soy sauce for extra umaminess. When cooking it in the pan, do not over-stir it too much to retain a chunky egg-like texture. After cooking it with the seasonings, set it aside and add it later to the soup.
- Dried mini shrimps: Dried mini shrimps add a seafood taste and are added last to the soup. You’ll love dried shrimp for their distinct savory and umami taste. Aside from dried shrimp, you can use dried shrimp flakes, chopped fresh or frozen shrimp, shrimp paste, anchovies, fish sauce, and other pieces of fish. If you are only after the umami taste without adding the shrimp, vegetarian or vegan alternatives for this are seaweed, kelp, miso paste, fermented soybean paste, and plant-based fish sauce.
- Coriander: Lastly, fresh chopped coriander gives the soup a tart and lemon-like taste. The best alternatives to fresh coriander are coriander powder and crushed coriander seeds. As a last resort, you can omit this from the recipe or swap coriander with parsley, mint, or basil.
Ingredients And Kitchenware You Need
Apart from your knife and mixing bowls, prepare a non-stick pan or pot for sauteing the flavoring ingredients and boiling the soup. It also helps to have a strainer to easily remove the pieces of ginger, green onions, and dried peppers from the soup. Here are the ingredients you need and adjust the amount according to your liking:
- 1 cup of tofu (cut into strips)
- 1 cup of chopped enoki mushrooms
- 1 cup of carrot (cut into strips)
- 1 cup of ham (cut into strips)
- 1 cup of wood ear mushrooms
- Oil for sauteing
- 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup of chopped ginger
- 1/2 cup of chopped dried red peppers
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- A bowl of water (or broth)
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of white pepper
- 1 tbsp of vinegar
- Cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water (1:2 ratio))
- 3 beaten eggs
- 1 tablespoon of dried mini shrimp
- A handful of chopped fresh coriander
Steps To Make Hot And Sour Soup
Once the meat and vegetables are sliced, making the soup is quite fast and easy already as you only need to season it and add the rest of the ingredients. You can probably finish the entire recipe in less than 30 minutes. Check out my short tutorial video on Instagram or TikTok to learn more about the steps.
Remember to snap a photo and share it with me by tagging @kitchenmisadventures! I would love to see how you made the soup with your chosen ingredients. Follow these steps to make hot and sour soup:
- Prepare your meat and vegetables. Drain and slice the tofu into strips. Wash and chop the enoki mushrooms into three slices to make them shorter. If using dried wood ear mushrooms, soak them until fully rehydrated and soft. Then, chop into strips the carrots, ham, and your other chosen meat and vegetables.
- Chop the green onions, ginger, and dried peppers.
- Heat oil in a non-stick pot and saute the chopped green onions, ginger, and dried peppers. Stir until fragrant.
- Add light soy sauce and a bowl of water.
- Season with salt, white pepper powder, and vinegar. Adjust to taste.
- Bring to a slight boil. Once cooked and the flavors are fully absorbed, remove the pieces of ginger, green onions, and dried peppers using a strainer.
- For a thicker consistency, gradually pour the cornstarch slurry white continuously stirring. Give the cornstarch slurry another mix before pouring it into the soup since the cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom. Moreover, it is also important to continuously stir the soup to prevent the cornstarch slurry from settling or clumping.
- When the soup thickens, add the slices of tofu, enoki mushrooms, carrots, ham, and wood ear mushrooms. Give it a gentle stir.
- Bring to a boil and slowly pour in the three beaten eggs. This is also the part where you can add the tofu scramble if you are using this as your egg drop alternative.
- Lastly, add dried mini shrimp and chopped coriander. Give it a final stir.
Authentic Chinese Hot And Sour Soup
Have a nourishing hot and sour soup filled with your favorite ingredients, whether it is a cold winter day or you simply love an easy-to-make starter. This version is packed with healthy ingredients, such as tofu, enoki mushrooms, carrots, and wood ear mushrooms. You gotta love its playful flavors and textures - spicy, tangy, creamy, and silky!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of tofu cut into strips
- 1 cup of chopped enoki mushrooms
- 1 cup of carrot cut into strips
- 1 cup of ham cut into strips
- 1 cup of wood ear mushrooms
- Oil for sauteing
- 1/2 cup of chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup of chopped ginger
- 1/2 cup of chopped dried red peppers
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- A bowl of water or broth
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of white pepper
- 1 tbsp of vinegar
- Cornstarch slurry 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water (1:2 ratio)
- 3 beaten eggs
- 1 tablespoon of dried mini shrimp
- A handful of chopped fresh coriander
Instructions
- Prepare your meat and vegetables. Drain and slice the tofu into strips. Wash and chop the enoki mushrooms into three slices to make them shorter. If using dried wood ear mushrooms, soak them until fully rehydrated and soft. Then, chop into strips the carrots, ham, and your other chosen meat and vegetables.
- Chop the green onions, ginger, and dried peppers.
- Heat oil in a non-stick pot and saute the chopped green onions, ginger, and dried peppers. Stir until fragrant.
- Add light soy sauce and a bowl of water.
- Season with salt, white pepper powder, and vinegar. Adjust to taste.
- Bring to a slight boil. Once cooked and the flavors are fully absorbed, remove the pieces of ginger, green onions, and dried peppers using a strainer.
- For a thicker consistency, gradually pour the cornstarch slurry white continuously stirring. Give the cornstarch slurry another mix before pouring it into the soup since the cornstarch tends to settle at the bottom. Moreover, it is also important to continuously stir the soup to prevent the cornstarch slurry from settling or clumping.
- When the soup thickens, add the slices of tofu, enoki mushrooms, carrots, ham, and wood ear mushrooms. Give it a gentle stir.
- Bring to a boil and slowly pour in the three beaten eggs. This is also the part where you can add the tofu scramble if you are using this as your egg drop alternative.
- Lastly, add dried mini shrimp and chopped coriander. Give it a final stir.
Nutrition
Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 22gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 1455mgPotassium: 444mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 6232IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 140mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
