I usually judge the quality of an Asian buffet by its hot and sour soup. It’s the first thing I go for as a palate cleanser. If it’s good, with just the right balance of sour, spicy, and savory, chances are the buffet is going to be pretty awesome too.
When making it at home, I have to admit, I love using those little instant soup packets. It’s great for making a single serving or a small portion. But it’s actually not that hard to make hot and sour soup from scratch at home, and you get a much bigger pot to feed a crowd.
What is Chinese Hot and Sour Soup?
If you’ve ever been to an Asian buffet, chances are you’ve come across hot and sour soup, among other available soups. It’s a savory, tangy soup with a little heat and plenty of texture.
The broth is dark, glossy, and lightly thickened with a cornstarch slurry. It has just the right balance of sour, spicy, slightly sweet, and savory. The hot (referring to the heat) comes from red chili flakes, and the sour comes from vinegar.
The soup is usually loaded with goodies, including silky egg ribbons, tiny cubes or thin strands of tofu, and crunchy wood ear mushrooms.
Shiitake mushrooms are also sometimes added for extra earthy flavor. The broth can be made with just about any stock, including vegetable, pork, beef, or chicken, depending on what you have on hand.
What You Will Need
To make Chinese hot and sour soup at home, gather the following ingredients:
- The Broth: I usually have homemade chicken stock on hand, made by pressure cooking or simmering chicken bones on the stovetop with plenty of bulb onions and ginger. You can also use lightly salted store-bought chicken or vegetable stock, or bone broth. Store-bought American stock usually doesn’t contain ginger, so let it simmer with a bit of ginger to give it that classic Asian chicken stock flavor.
- Mushrooms: Wood ear mushrooms for that essential crunch and shiitake mushrooms for extra earthy flavor. I love using the dried versions for both as they are pantry staples.
- Bamboo Shoots: I like to use canned julienned bamboo shoots for convenience.
- Tofu: Choose firm or medium-firm tofu. Cut it into thin sheets, then into matchsticks.
- Eggs: A beaten eggs for those beautiful ribbons.
- The Seasonings: Light soy sauce, dark soy sauce for color, salt, sugar and toasted sesame oil.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Traditionally, red pepper flakes provide the heat. You can also use fresh red chili peppers cut into thin slices.
- Vinegar: The sour component. I’m using white vinegar here, but if you can get your hands on Chinese black vinegar, it would be more traditional.
- Thickener: Cornstarch mixed with a bit of cold water to create a slurry. This is used to lightly thicken the soup.
- Garnishes: Thinly sliced green onions. You can also use thinly sliced cilantro or a combination of both and plenty of ground white pepper to top the soup. You can also sub with ground black pepper.
How to Make it
Step 1: Prepare the ingredients
Start by rehydrating the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms by soaking them in hot water. This will take about 15 minutes. The hotter the water, the quicker they will hydrate. Once softened, finely mince the wood ear mushrooms and thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms.
Drain the bamboo shoots and give them a good rinse with hot water to remove the strong aroma. Drain and cut the tofu into thin matchsticks or tiny cubes. Finally, thinly slice the green onions with whites and greens separated.
Step 2: Make the broth
In a medium pot, bring the stock to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add the bamboo shoots, tofu, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and the white parts of the green onions. Simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
Step 3: Season the broth
Stir in the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil.
Step 4: Thicken the broth
Make the corn starch slurry by mixing it with cold water until it fully dissolves. Slowly drizzle the slurry into the simmering soup while stirring in a circular motion. Cook for 1 minute until the broth turns glossy and thickens.
Step 5: Create egg ribbons
Turn off the heat completely. Hold the bowl of beaten eggs a few inches above the pot and slowly stream the eggs in while stirring the soup in one circular direction.
Step 6: Finish and serve
Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and ground pepper.
Pro Tips
- Thicken before adding the egg: The cornstarch-thickened broth helps suspend the egg, creating those beautiful, distinct restaurant-style ribbons.
- Avoid double-dipping when tasting: The saliva from your spoon can introduce enzymes and bacteria that may break down the soup and affect its texture over time. Use a clean spoon each time you taste.
- Add protein to make it heartier: Thinly sliced beef or pork are great additions if you want to turn this into a more filling meal. You will need about half a pound of meat.
Storage & Reheating
This makes about 7-8 servings, so you’ll most likely have leftovers. Keep the soup in the pot, cover, and store it in the refrigerator.
To reheat, gently warm the soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
For individual portions, you can also microwave the soup in a covered, microwave-safe bowl for about 2 minutes, or until heated through.
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 7–8 servings 1x
Description
A quick, authentic-tasting hot and sour soup made with wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots, tofu, and red chili flakes.
Ingredients
Broth
- 6 cups lightly salted chicken broth (or choice of stock or bone broth)
- 20 oz can bamboo shoot (strips)
- 8 oz firm tofu (half 1 lb package)
- 15g dried wood ear fungus
- 3 large dried shiitake mushroom
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger (if using store-bought chicken stock with no ginger aroma)
Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce (for color)
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar or Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper (can sub with black pepper)
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Slurry
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup cold water
Egg
- 2 large eggs (well-beaten)
Garnishes
- Chopped green onions and/or cilantro
- Ground white pepper (can sub with black pepper)
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients: Start by rehydrating the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms by soaking them in hot water. This will take about 15 minutes. The hotter the water, the quicker they will hydrate. Once softened, finely mince the wood ear mushrooms and thinly slice the shiitake mushrooms. Drain the bamboo shoots and give them a good rinse with hot water to remove the strong aroma. Drain and cut the tofu into thin matchsticks or tiny cubes. Finally, thinly slice the green onions with whites and greens separated.
- Make the broth: In a medium pot, bring the stock to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add the bamboo shoots, tofu, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and the white parts of the green onions. Simmer on medium-low for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Season the broth: Stir in the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, salt, sugar, white pepper, red pepper flakes (can omit if you don’t want it spicy) and sesame oil.
- Thicken the broth: Make the corn starch slurry by mixing corn starch with cold water until it fully dissolves. Slowly drizzle the slurry into the simmering soup while stirring in a circular motion. Cook for 1 minute until the broth turns glossy and thickens.
- Create egg ribbons: Turn off the heat completely. Hold the bowl of beaten eggs a few inches above the pot and slowly stream the eggs in while stirring the soup in one circular direction.
- Finish and serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and ground pepper.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
