I just love hot and sour soup and order it often in Chinese restaurants.
Now that I have discovered that it is surprisingly easy to make at home, it’s going to be on my table on a regular basis.
This delicious and easy soup recipe is perfect for diabetics as it’s quite low carb.
If you want to make it vegetarian, all you have to do is substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock and omit the eggs.
Let’s get started.
Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce, light
- 1/4 pound pork, lean, cut into 1/4 inch dice, or julienned
- 6 Chinese mushrooms, dried, soaked for three hours, drained, and cut into julienne strips
- 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 cup white vinegar, more or less to taste
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 5 tablespoons water
- salt, if you find you need it
- 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, cut into a thin julienne
- 1/4 cup dried black fungus, cloud ears soak for one hour, drained and shredded
- 8 ounces tofu, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 4 eggs, beaten
Instructions
- Bring the stock to a simmer and add the soy, pork, and mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the pepper and vinegar, and thicken with the cornstarch mixed with water. Taste the soup for seasonings, then add the bamboo, fungus and the bean curd.
- Beat the eggs together well. Bring the soup to a simmer again and pour in the eggs in a very thin stream over the surface of the soup. Count to 10, then stir the pot a few times very slowly. You will see that egg threads have formed in the soup.
Nutrition
If you want a more tangy flavor to your soup, you can add additional vinegar before you serve it. Just start out with a few drops and taste until you get the flavor you want. You can also add more freshly ground pepper and a few drops of sesame oil.
Serves 8 to 10.
Tips and Variations for Hot and Sour Soup:
If you really want this to be hot, try adding some garlic and red chili paste. (There is a bit of red chili paste in the batch in the image, which is why you see those little red flecks in the soup.)
Make it vegetarian and vegan by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock and omitting the eggs and pork.
I don’t know about you, but I am not always a purist about recipes. I would say that if you can’t find the proper Chinese mushrooms, use the mushrooms you have at hand. Brown mushrooms would be great, but you can use white mushrooms as well. It will certainly still be yummy.
Garnish each bowl with a few finely chopped green onions if you want. A scattering of grated carrots brightens up the bowl and adds a bit of crunch.
*Important*
If you need this recipe to be gluten free, please make sure you are using a gluten free soy sauce. Not all of them are. The cornstarch is already gluten free.
Find more delicious Asian recipes like this hot and sour soup here.
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