This hot and sour soup recipe is nice and spicy with pork and tofu simmered in a thickened broth and served with silky ribbons of egg swirled through. Easy to make!
Soup time, my friends! Today we're cooking up a steaming bowl of Hot and Sour Soup in the Chili Pepper Madness kitchen. Would you care for a bowl? I think you're going to love this recipe.
It's perfect for the spicy food lover, and easy to make it as "hot" and spicy, and sour, as you prefer. This is a soup we love when the weather turns colder. It's very easy to make and it is very comforting, especially with my additional spices.
What is Hot and Sour Soup?
Hot and Sour Soup is a regional Chinese soup made with mushrooms and other vegetables, and often meats, in a flavorful stock. There are many variations of this soup, depending on the region and the cook, though typical ingredients include chicken or vegetable stock with lots of mushrooms, tofu, and pork or chicken.
The "hot" element traditionally comes from the addition of white pepper, though I add other spicier elements to mine, and the "sour" element comes from rice vinegar. You can very easily adjust both the hot and sour elements to your taste preference.
This recipe is more of a Chinese-American style hot and sour soup, more like you would find in your local Chinese restaurant, though I try to incorporate more traditional elements. It is thickened with cornstarch, which isn't always used in traditional Chinese versions, though I do see it in some of my cookbooks.
I think you'll love this version so much better than your favorite take out place. We certainly do.
Let's talk about how to make hot and sour soup, shall we?
Hot and Sour Soup Ingredients
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms. You can use fresh, but dried shiitake mushrooms offer a deeper flavor. You can use other mushrooms, if desired. Wood ear mushrooms are popular.
- Dried Lily Buds. Can be found online or in a local Asian market. Omit if you can't find them.
- Chicken Stock. A good quality chicken broth is good, or use vegetable stock for a vegetarian version (omitting the pork, of course).
- Soy Sauce.
- Rice Vinegar.
- Hot Sesame Oil. Reflecting the "hot" of the recipe.
- Sichuan Peppercorns. Sichuan peppercorns accentuate the "hot" elements of this dish with their tongue-numbing quality.
- Bamboo Shoots.
- Crushed Chili Flakes. Optional, for extra "hot".
- Corn Starch. For thickening the soup.
- Ground Pork. You can use other cuts of pork, like thinly sliced pork shoulder.
- Tofu. I use firm tofu.
- Salt and Pepper. To taste. White pepper is more traditional, though you can use black pepper, if preferred.
- Eggs. Beaten, which will form the thin egg ribbons for serving. So good.
- For Serving. Hot sesame oil or hot chili oil, chopped scallions, red pepper flakes
How to Make Hot and Sour Soup - the Recipe Method
Rehydrate the Dried Ingredients. Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and dried lily flowers to a small bowl and cover with very hot water or boiling water. Steep for 1 hour, or until softened and rehydrated. You can skip this step if omitting the dried lily flowers and using fresh mushrooms.
Boil the Stock. Add the chicken stock, rice vinegar, soy sauce and hot sesame oil to a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add Ingredients and Simmer. Add the Sichuan peppercorns, mushrooms, lily buds, bamboo shoots, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and stir. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Thicken the Soup. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook, stirring, 5 minutes to thicken.
Ground Pork and Tofu. Add the ground pork, and tofu. Stir and cook 5 minutes to cook the pork through.
Form the Egg Ribbons. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs while slowly stirring the soup. This will allow the eggs to form silky ribbons in the swirling soup. Remove from heat.
Serve. Serve the hot and sour soup into bowls and top with hot sesame oil or hot chili oil, scallions or green onions, and red pepper flakes.
Boom! Done! Your hot and sour soup is ready to serve! I'm so ready to dig into this. We love this soup, especially when I make it extra spicy just for us.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Heat Factor. Despite the name, "hot" doesn't necessarily refer to spice factor with this soup, though I obviously prefer spicy. You can easily up the "hot" element of this soup by including more Sichuan peppercorns, more hot sesame oil or hot chili oil, and more hot pepper flakes. Consider incorporating hot chilies as well, which I often use for myself. Other options include chili crisp, sriracha, chili-garlic sauce, or your favorite hot sauce. Spice it up!
- The Mushrooms. You can serve your "hot and sour soup" as more of a mushroom soup if you prefer. Consider adding a mix, such as button mushrooms, wood ear fungus/mushrooms, and others. Use vegetable stock and skip the pork for a vegetarian version.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my spicy hot and sour soup recipe. Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!
Recommended Cookbooks
If you love Chinese recipes and cooking, I recommend these books for the American cook. They're loaded with Chinese recipes that are full of flavor. I refer to them quite often.
- The Food of Sichuan, by Fuchsia Dunlop (affiliate link, my friends!) - This book is fantastic with loads of authentic Sichuan recipes and knowledge. Highly recommended.
- Easy Chinese Cookbook: Restaurant Favorites Make Simple, by Chris Toy (affiliate link, my friends!)
Try Some of My Other Popular Chinese Recipes
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Szechuan Chicken
- Hunan Chicken
- Cashew Chicken
- Dragon Chicken
- Mapo Tofu
- Sichuan Dry-Fried Green Beans Recipe (Ganbian Sijidou)
- Try some of my other Spicy Soup Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried sliced shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup dried lily buds
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon hot sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
- 8 ounces bamboo shoots canned is good
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper you can use black pepper, if preferred
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch mixed with 3 tablespoon water to form a slurry
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 1 pound firm tofu cut into bite-sized cubes
- 4 large eggs beaten
- For Serving. Hot sesame oil or hot chili oil, chopped scallions, red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and dried lily flowers to a bowl and cover with very hot water. Steep for 1 hour, or until softened and rehydrated.
- Add the chicken stock, rice vinegar, soy sauce and hot sesame oil to a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add the Sichuan peppercorns, mushrooms, lily buds, bamboo shoots, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper and stir. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the corn starch slurry and cook, stirring, 5 minutes to thicken.
- Add the ground pork, and tofu. Stir and cook 5 minutes to cook the pork through.
- Slowly drizzle in the beaten eggs while slowly swirling the soup. This will allow the eggs to form silky ribbons in the swirling soup. Remove from heat.
- Serve the hot and sour soup into bowls and top with hot sesame oil or hot chili oil, scallions, and red pepper flakes.
Nutrition Information
Kell says
I can't wait to make this. I adore hot and sour soup. I don't know what it is with tofu and me but it's just amazing. I found lily buds at Amazon for 8.99.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Yes! I hope you love it as much as we do, Kell!
Lynn O’Brien says
Where can I find dried lily buds? Recipe looks awesome.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Lynn, you can find them at your local Asian market, or order them online. I found some from Amazon.
Phyllis Churchill says
Is it possible to use something Else other than Tofu? or would i Just omit it? I don't like Tofu at all.
Thanks
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Phyllis, yes, you can either skip it, or add in extra pork and/or mushrooms, or try it with shrimp or chicken.