Poor Man’s
Gourmet Kitchen

The Best Hot and Sour Soup

This soup became one of my all time favorite Asian recipes almost 25 years ago. My cooking training originated in a Chinese Bistro so I learned how to cook Chinese food, right. Much like Sweet and Sour sauce, this soup has a hot and sour combination. The heat comes from the rice vinegar, chili paste and white pepper and you can add as little or as much of each ingredient you want.

In this recipe I use Beef broth to achieve a flavor that, to me, seems richer than using the traditional chicken broth. Because I use 2 quarts in this recipe, it might be a good idea to use one of each if you prefer your soup a bit more fare or just chicken broth altogether.

The vegetable base is a simple mix of carrot, bamboo shoots, black fungus, Shitake mushrooms and spring or green onion. I use firm tofu, cut into cubes, for the protein but it’s not uncommon to add thinly sliced and pre-cooked pork or chicken. If you’d like, you can ditch the protein altogether, even.

I want to stress the importance of NOT substituting the Rice Vinegar for any other. It will not taste the same. Rice vinegar is salty and has almost a Fish Sauce quality to it. So using plain white, apple cider or even black Chinese Vinegar is not going to achieve the taste you’d expect from your local Chinese Buffet, Restaurant or take out.

The video will teach you everything else you need to know, including the secret to making those amazing Egg Ribbons we all love so much in our Egg Drop and Hot and Sour soups. If you’re interested in other Asian Soup recipes, check out my Miso Soup, Wonton Soup or my Red Sauce Wonton’s recipe.

Hot and Sour Soup Ingredients:

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, chopped
2 qt Chicken Broth
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1 tbsp Black Bean Garlic Sauce
1 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp Chili Paste

1/2 cup Carrot, shoe string slices
8 oz Mushroom, Shitaki
8 oz Tofu, firm and cubed slices
2 oz Black Fungis

2 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp White Pepper

2 Eggs, for egg ribbons, soup should be boiling. Add Corn Starch after.
1/4 cup Corn Starch, pre-mix with 1 cup of the broth and stir in last.

1 tsp MSG, optional but really brings out the flavor.

Garnish with 2 Green Onions, chopped into scallions.
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste.

Just watch the video tutorial and I’ll show you exactly how to make this amazing Hot and Sour Soup.