Hot and sour soup is the ultimate winter comfort dish, blending spicy, tangy, and umami flavors. Try this recipe which is made in the classic Indo-Chinese style.
What Makes Hot and Sour Soup Special?
Hot and sour soup balances contrasting flavors in a single pot. Its characteristic spicy heat from Sambal chili paste, sweetness from the ketchup and tangy sourness from the vinegar make it SO addicting. The variety of mushrooms this recipe calls for adds an umami richness to this soup and keeps to the authentic Chinese Hot and Sour soup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Well-Balanced Flavors: If there is one soup that combines savory and acidic components well, it is this Hot and Sour soup.
- Customizable Ingredients: You can add any veggies keeping the base of the recipe the same plus adjust heat to your liking.
- Quick and Easy: This is an under 30 minutes soup recipe!
Indo-Chinese Hot and Sour Soup Inspiration
This recipe takes its cue from the authentic Chinese Hot and sour soup + the Indo-Chinese hot and sour soup, which is a favorite in South Asian street food culture especially in India and Pakistan. The traditional Chinese version uses pork, but my version is made in chicken stock, a blend of mushrooms like oyster, cremini and shiitake, and uses only a little tomato ketchup in the sauce along with a lot more savory goodness. I also top it with quick-pickled green chilies for an additional kick to keep to the Indo-Chinese style.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken broth and shredded chicken: You can use homemade or store-bought.
- Vegetables and soy: Cabbage, carrots, tofu and mushrooms (cremini, oyster shiitake and if you can find wood-ear mushrooms). You can also add bamboo shoots if you like which is found in the traditional Chinese Hot and Sour soup.
- Sauce: The sauce is the real deal and combines Dark and Light Soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, sugar, white pepper and vinegar.
- Cornstarch slurry: Adding a little cornstarch mixed with water will instantly thicken the soup to your desired consistency.
- Optional Toppings: green chilies in vinegar and prawn crackers or crispy noodles for some crunch and texture (I skipped this)
How to make Chinese hot & Sour soup
1. Make the Chicken Broth
You can make fresh chicken stock or use store-bought. I bought a cooked rotisserie chicken, removed all the meat and with the leftover bones and carcass made a fresh stock. For this, just add the bones with 4-5 cups of water alongwith 3 garlic cloves, ¼ onion, 1 celery stick, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf, 2-3 cloves. let the water come to a boil then lower the heat to medium and allow to simmer for an hour. Strain the broth and use in this soup recipe.
2. Sauté the Mushrooms
Heat oil in a pan and stir-fry the mushrooms on medium flame in a little butter. This step intensifies the umami flavor of the mushrooms.
3. Add the Stock/Broth
Add the broth, the veggies+tofu, shredded chicken and sauce. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
4. Thicken the Soup
Prepare a cornstarch slurry by mixing cornstarch with water. Gradually add it to the soup, stirring constantly until it reaches your desired consistency. I like it medium thick but do as you please.
Watch how to make Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Egg Drop
Chinese Hot and Sour soup is an egg drop soup. For this, add beaten egg very slowly while the soup simmers and stir the soup with your spatula gently to create egg ribbons.
Serving Hot and Sour Soup
Serve hot with vinegary green chilies for some added kick and a side of soy sauce + hot sauce if you can handle the heat.
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
Soup Base
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 garlic chopped finely chopped
- ½ cup shredded chicken
- ¼ cup sliced cabbage
- 1 shredded carrot
- 1 cup mushrooms cremini, shiitake and oyster combination
- ¼ cup firm tofu, chopped optional, add as much as you like
- 1 beaten egg increase it to 2 if you like it
Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce this will add the dark color
- ½ tablespoon sambal or chili paste or decrease to 1 teaspoon to make it less spicy
- 2 tablespoon ketchup add more to balance out the spice if needed
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon brown sugar
- ¾-1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or regular white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder optional
Cornstarch Slurry
- 2 tablespoon cornflour
- 4-5 tablespoon water or until the slurry is running
Garnish
- green onions only green part chopped
- 1-2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 green chili let it sit in vinegar
Instructions
- In a pot, sautee ½ of the mushrooms with a little oil till they release their aroma about 4-5 minutes then add the chicken stock along with the remaining mushrooms,
- Prepare your sauce by combining all the ingredients listed under "Sauce" and pour it into the soup. Let it come to a a simmer then add the cabbage, carrots and tofu. Let the soup simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- To thicken the soup, mix corn flour with water until a running consistence is achieved and slowly pour it into the soup till you reach your desired consistence. Add more to make the soup thick or less or keep it more runny.
- Next add the vinegar and the chicken bouillon.
- Beat an egg in a bowl and slowly pour it into the soup on low heat. As you pour, run your spatula gently around to create egg ribbons that are charateristic of the Chinese Hot and Sour Soup.
- Finish with a few teaspoons of sesame oil and chopped green onions.
D
Hey. Thanks for posting this. Question on the garlic - is this one clove of garlic or an entire bulb. And the recipe does not mention when the garlic should be added ? Thanks
Shazeen
So delicious! My MIL told me this was better than a restaurant and my very picky FIL told me the soup was very good. Trust me, that man never says anything is good! It was such a great take on hot and sour soup. It reminded me of chicken corn soup but with a really nice kick and umami flavor. One of my uncles stopped by to drop something off and I shared the soup with him also and his comments were “hey, if you ever lose your job, at least you know how to cook” lol. I did not tell him I got this online! Your food is always perfection! I’ve followed you for a very very long time, from back when you posted the shrimp fried rice recipe. Your food has become even more delicious since those days. I’m so excited to try everything you make. It never disappoints! I’m so glad I found your page many years ago!
Rookie With A Cookie
WOW, This feels like personal win because I totally get the palate of parents who've been hardcoded all their life on certain flavors. Thank you for following along and trusting my recipes Shazeen. Means so much to receive your feedback!
Shabbir
hi there ... do you think the Korean guochajung paste will taste nice in this recipe? I have a whole box and desperate to use it 🙂
Rookie With A Cookie
Hi Shabbir! I think gochujang will be great in this recipe. I'd say to sub the chili paste with gochujang and adjust to your taste. I also have a 3/4 full box myself! It goes such a long way.