Hot and Sour Soup
This Chinese-style hot and sour soup recipe has a thick, tangy, and spicy broth loaded with tofu, egg ribbons, and mushrooms. This is the BEST and EASIEST hot & sour soup that's a zillion times better than takeout!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 5 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 can chicken broth or vegetable broth (14.5 oz/1 cup/240 ml)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 8 oz (230g) soft tofu (cut into strips)
- 6 oz (230g) white button mushroom (stems trimmed and caps quartered)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese vinegar (apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce (for coloring purpose)
- 3 dashes ground white pepper (or black pepper)
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 teaspoon chili oil (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped scallion (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Add the cornstarch and water together, and stir to combine well. Set aside.
- 2
Add the chicken or vegetable broth and water to a medium-sized soup pot on medium heat. Bring it to a boil. Add the tofu and white button mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes.
- 3
Add the soy sauce, vinegar, dark soy sauce, and black pepper. Stir to combine well. Add in the cornstarch mixture, and stir continuously to thicken the soup. Turn off the heat.
- 4
Swirl the beaten eggs into the soup, count to 10, and then use a pair of chopsticks to stir in a clockwise direction, 3 times. This will form the silken egg threads in the soup that look very pretty. Add the chili oil and chopped scallions, if using.
- 5
Dish out and serve immediately.