You Asked for It – Hot and Sour Soup!
Many readers have emailed me and requested for Chinese hot and sour soup for the longest time, so I am really excited to be sharing this super easy hot and sour soup recipe that anyone can make at home.
The sweetest thing is that it takes only 15 minutes from prep to finish, and you have a pot of warm, hearty, and utterly delicious hot and sour soup that tastes like it’s straight from your favorite Chinese restaurant or takeout.
How to Make Hot and Sour Soup
My hot and sour soup recipe is very easy and quick. Hot and sour soup calls for just a few ingredients: chicken/vegetable stock, tofu, eggs, and mushrooms.
For those wondering, “What is hot and sour soup?” You might really be wondering what ingredients are in hot and sour soup that actually makes it hot and sour.
You only need two seasonings to bring out the iconic flavors of hot and sour soup: soy sauce and vinegar. If you like it spicy, you can add some dried chili flakes or chili oil into the soup.
Try my hot and sour soup recipe and I am sure you will love it!
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paulina
Looks delicious! I’m making it tomorrow.
Wes
Does anybody know how white vinegar would make this taste of that’s all you had? Would it be drastically different than the vinegars listed??
Rasa Malaysia
White vinegar is Chinese vinegar, it should work the same.
Christabelle
Hi, Im actually on diet and trying to cut down on the corn starch. What do you suggest for substituting corn starch?
michaelXmoore
Try using the DIET corn starch. . . . .
EL
I tend to substitute corn starch with potato starch these days. I would normally half the amount of starch since potato starch has more thickening power.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, that’s a great substitute. :)
Christabelle
Hi Im trying to cut down on the corn starch. Is it okay if I don’t include the corn starch?
Rasa Malaysia
You need cornstarch to make hot and sour soup, you can use less.
Sonja
I am also trying to cut the corn starch. I would suggest using xanthan gum as a substitute, but be very careful with it!
Joycelyn
There’s approx. 30 calories & 7 grams of carbs in one tablespoon cornstarch. 10 calories & 2 grams of carbs in Canada corn starch if it’s available in your area.
The amount of cornstarch called for in this recipe wouldn’t put anyone over the edge who’s counting calories or carbs as the recipe serves 2 or 4 persons not 1 at one sitting.
Cutting down on cornstarch because of the latest diet one might be on or for health reasons would be something to fret about if the cornstarch was used in large amounts.
The amount of cornstarch in this recipe would barely register on ones diet scale/chart as there just isn’t enough to make a difference.
My advice.
Make the lovely soup with the cornstarch and enjoy.
Travelog Siti
I usually don’t use corn starch to make it thick, what I do is I crack an eggs while the soup is boiling and put it into the soup. Stir the eggs and the soup will be thick too. Hope this is helping you.
Janet
I use egg, too, as do the traditional recipes I’ve relied on for years–I’ve been making it since my husband returned from Taiwan with a local cookbook in English circa 1975 (back in those days the only restaurant soups in most parts of the US were egg drop and wonton). The photo above does appear to have egg shreds. This soup used to have a thinner texture when it first appeared in more restaurants, too, so I think cornstarch is something that’s crept in over time. I also add some sesame oil at the end, and have to say that other traditional ingredients are pieces of the recipe that I love–Chinese dark vinegar, dried tiger lily buds, shredded tree ear fungus–you might be surprised at what you can find in supermarkets these days. A local restaurant here also uses slices of Szechuan pickled vegetable (I thought it was kohlrabi and when I bought it in crocks, that’s what it looked like–Wikipedia identifies it as mustard stem) that add a delicious piquancy. A julienned raw pork chop is traditional although the soup tastes perfectly fine meatless–since tofu is required no matter what, there is still plenty of protein without added meat.
Rasa Malaysia
I have a traditional hot and sour soup recipe in my cookbook “Easy Chinese Recipes.” This is a simplified version for accessibility.
June
What if you used a bit of arrowroot instead?
This sounds so so yummy and easy.
Please explain what makes this Hot other than the cooking? Most [email protected] soups that I have tried seem to have some sort of oil that has a hot taste. Yours doesn’t and I love the clean taste that you have much better.
Allen Wooldridge
White pepper is the heat, which is the white core of the black peppercorn. For more heat, add more pepper but be careful it will bite if you add too much. It will get hotter as it cooks so, I suggest an extra “lite” sprinkle w/ your fingers as a garnish on top at serving or a few drops of hot sauce. p.s. White pepper is the chef’s secret to awesome mashed potatoes. A pinch or two. You will never eat mashed potatoes without it again, I promise you. Enjoy! aka: The Off The Cuff Chef
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Allen, thanks for your secret tip to make mashed potatoes so much tastier. :)
joseph
no
Kate Hamilton
arrowroot works–it can be found in the spice aisle at the grocery store. My nutritionist advocates using it as an alternative to cornstarch (she is definitely anti-anything with corn in it!)
Findia Group
Thanks for sharing!
Satish
How and when would u incorporate chicken or shrimps into the soup ?
Satish
How and when do I incorporate the chicken or shrimps into the soup ?
Waiping
I just made this and it tasted really good for a quick hot and sour soup recipe.
Here are my tweaks to the recipe: I used chicken stock instead of broth, sliced the mushrooms instead of quartered them, added frozen peas for more vegetables, used white pepper instead of black pepper for spiciness, and garnished it with chopped green onions and cilantro for color. I also added sliced cooked Chinese sausage b/c I made this soup my lunch.
Thank you for this recipe! :)
Rasa Malaysia
Yummy, yes I liked the taste of this hot and sour soup very much…it’s good since it takes such a short time to make. :)
Cathy
Christabelle, you might try using about a tsp of arrowroot powder. I think that has about 6 carbs. I actually like hot and sour soup that isn’t quite so thick, so might use less. And be sure not to overheat or it will lump up!
Thank you for the great recipe, RasaMalaysia.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Cathy, this recipe is not thick, as you can see, it just thickens it up a bit so it’s like what we get at Chinese restaurants. :)
roberta day
I have some Chinese Rice Vinegar, will this work, or do I need another kind?
Thank You!
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, that will work. :)
Maggie
Looks good! Thanks for the recipe!
Wondering if I can use a different kind of vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar or Chinese vinegar?
Also, what exactly is “Chinese vinegar”?
Would the bottle of vinegar say “Chinese vinegar” on it?
Thank you!
Jason
Made this for dinner tonight. Doubled the recipe and used sambal for a little kick. Very delicious.
Cindy Troublefield
I have been making hot and sour soup for years as a lover of Chinese food. Rice wine vinegar is the best to use and also use white pepper. I also use bamboo shoots and instead of button mushrooms, which are okay, I use Chinese mushrooms. You add the white pepper and vinegar until it is the taste you want. The cornstarch works best for a little thickening.Everything else is basically the same. Shrimp is a wonderful addition! Thanks for bringing this recipe
e to my attention!
Rasa Malaysia
Agreed on white pepper for Chinese food. I chose to use black pepper in this recipe because many people don’t have white pepper so I am making this accessible for everyone. The best vinegar to use would be Chinese rice vinegar, again not common so I opted for Apple cider vinegar, but yes rice wine vinegar is pretty much the same as Chinese rice vinegar.
Bill Barido
I made the soup yesterday – double batch. I thought I had bamboo shoots, but didn’t.
However, I had water chestnuts, so I sliced them up and put them in. Other than that, I followed your recipe to the letter, with added heat per your suggestion.
It came out perfect. Thanks for a great recipe.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Bill!
Lisa @ Strum Simmer Sip
I love your blog and all of these amazing asian recipes! They remind me of my mother’s home cooking (she’s from Singapore). This soup is perfect for Chinese New Year and for chilly nights in San Francisco. Thank you for sharing and I can’t wait to follow your blog!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Lisa thanks, do check out my new ebook: https://rasamalaysia.com/easy-asian-takeout/
KellieG
Made your soup last night to your exact specifications and it was fabulous! I’m so happy that I finally found a recipe for hot and sour soup that actually tastes like what I get in restaurants! Brilliant recipe!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Kellie, so happy that you love my hot and sour soup. I think it tastes just like the ones at Panda Express. :)
Steven
Hi, it’s me Steven (I had commented earlier on your fried rice technique/recipe)
I tried this recipe. Not too bad except one fundamental flaw. Please do not use cornstarch. Horrid texture. I beg you to try this recipe with tapioca or even potato starch instead. You can use justttt a bit of dried scallop to add oomph to your dish. Substitute button mushrooms for pre soaked Shiitake…its much more flavorful. Skip the chilli flakes. Use chilli oil. Thank you for accomodating my suggestions. Ur readers will be happier
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Steven, thanks for your suggestions. Again this recipe mimics the ones served in the US at Panda Express. Cornstarch is accessible to everyone, but tapioca starch / potato starch are hard to get and only available at Asian stores. Button mushrooms are again accessible and the taste is mild and everyone likes it. Many find shiitake to be over-powering. Everyone has chili flakes at home, it’s very common but not chili oil. Again, I am trying to provide a recipe that is accessible to most Americans, and of course, experienced cooks can substitute and add anything they like – as you suggested. I have a complicated hot and sour soup recipe in my cookbook with a ton of other ingredients, but this recipe is easy enough and the taste is pretty good. My goal is to make Asian recipes accessible to my readers so they would actually attempt them at home, that’s the premise of this blog actually. :)
The Farmer's daughter
Just an FYI, potato starch and tapioca starch are available in most stores in the health food section. Bob’s Red Mill is the brand I use.
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome, thanks for the information!
Sandra
Why don’t you start your own blog then, Steven, you whiny son of a bitch.
Steven
You seem to have a large and great audience, instead of going the easy way and making it so ‘accessible’ you should utilise your great blog to showcase authentic flavors/textures/ingredients and not just to obtain ‘take-out food taste’. Your food blog is one of the most systematic blogs out there, fantastic but I encourage you to provide easy, authentic recipes esp since you carry the name rasa malaysia, not rasaamericanasian. My 2 cents. Then again, it’s your blog :)
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Steven, I appreciate the dialog and your honesty. I have a ton of authentic recipes, and they are all under https://rasamalaysia.com/recipes/malaysian-recipes/ and https://rasamalaysia.com/recipes/nyonya-recipes/. I do both, both authentic and American-friendly Asian recipes. The name of the site doesn’t reflect all the contents I have now, the blog has been around 9 years, it evolves over time. If I just focused on Malaysian recipes, I would have nothing else to write about now as there are only so many true Malaysian recipes out there. I also need to save them for my future Malaysian cookbook that I plan to write eventually. But do this, try my https://rasamalaysia.com/grilled-fish-with-banana-leaf/ recipe and I don’t think you can tell me it’s not authentic. My site has over 2 million users a month, and this blog is a business now, I have to do what serves the majority of my audience. I am based in the US, and 60% of my users are Americans. :)
Steven
True. Ok will try that recipe out. Thanks, Bee.
Neda Russell
Just made this for lunch and ate almost the entire pot by myself! So delicious, quick, and easy! Thank you for sharing!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Neda, so great that you like my hot and sour soup!
Steve Puu
I love soup. Thanks for the easy, healthy recipe. I am going to try it now.
Marlene
I just made this soup. It is delicious and quick. My only recommendation is to cook the mushrooms a little longer because mine were aldente. I am actually making another batch as I type this, because my parents love this soup, but I don’t want to share… Enjoy!! thanks for the easy and quick recipe
kwendy
This was great. I added a tbsp of chilli garlic sauce for some kick. So good and very easy!
Roy
How easy is it to multiply for larger servings?
We are a family of 12, so I always have to juggle the recipes a bit to ensure everyone gets some!
Rasa Malaysia
You can cook at least 4 portions.
EL
Hi! I’ve bookmarked this a while ago and I’m thinking of making this pretty soon. I just have one question. The Chinese vinegar you mentioned, is it the black vinegar or the clear ones? Many Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Clear vinegar.
Nissan Uy
Hi, I made this one early this morning but it turned out to be really sour. :( My husband didn’t finish his bowl. :( I placed 3 tbps soy sauce 2 tbsps rice vinegar & 1tbsp black vinegar.
Rasa Malaysia
Sorry to hear that, black vinegar might be making it more sour. I used 3 tablespoons Apple cider vinegar and the taste was spot on.
Amanda
Hi! I’m a busy person and I don’t typically eat much in one sitting. I really look for recipes that I can freeze a few small portions to grab and go later on down the road. Any idea if this is good after frozen? I’m super anxious to try it! Thanks
Shannon
While your recipe calls for button mushrooms, I already have a large supply of baby portabella mushrooms on hand. Would this be a good substitute?
Rasa Malaysia
You can but might taste slightly different.
Ellen Scott
Is it right that Chinese soup must have egg? I usually make one with 3 main ingredients of tofu, frozen prawn and mushroom. I prefer frozen prawn as I’m always on the go. I like white and oyster mushroom the most. Sometimes, I add cremini in stead. They do make the flavor different. Still, the way I make my super hot and sour soup is more similar to Thailand flavor rather than Chinese one.
Julie
I’m extremely addicted to super hot and sour soup of Chinese or Thailand recipe. I’m allergic to mushroom so I will choose broccoli or carrot for replacement. Is it make the flavor different? I find it hard to prepare tofu as I can not cut and keep them in square wedges. I like asparagus, not sure if it can be good combination for hot and sour shop.
It’s the very first time, but your blog give me a great impression on how recipe can be easily described and nice photo attached. Thank you.
Rasa Malaysia
No broccoli but carrot is fine.
Samuel Penny
I made this tonight; a vegetarian version. The chicken broth I replaced with vegetable broth (mine was store bought in cube form but you could make it with vege scraps). I used white wine vinegar instead of apple cider and it turned out well, especially with a few chilli flakes floating around. I couldn’t get tofu because the shops were closed so I used a Quorn-style alternative. I’d advise not adding the fake meat to the boiling water as it makes it a little too soft, but edible.
Great recipe, and I love your site.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Samuel.
Esther Price
i like Chinese food. The pic look like good! sweet
Martha Canez
Nice post ! thank you for your share!
Cheryl
Made a double batch today. Added more vinegar to make it more sour, thank you so much, I loved it!
Elizabeth
Thanks for sharing this healthy recipe.
Karen Kelly
I tried this tonight and it was delicious! I couldn’t find soft tofu so I used firm. I used a veggie peeler to make the strips. I will definitely be making this again.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Karen, thanks for trying my hot and sour soup recipe. I am so glad you liked it.
Jack
I live in Australia, do I need to stir the eggs in a counter-clockwise direction?
Mark Maguire
I found that if you stand on your head, clockwise is fine
Bethlyn Wells
That was funny Mark.
Cynthia Aguilo
Hi Rasa!
I really want to try this soup, do I have to use tofu or is there anything I could substitute it with?
Thanks in advance!!
Cynthia
Rasa Malaysia
Hmmm, hot and sour soup always has tofu.
Rob
I am allergic to egg so could you please recommend a suitable replacement for the beaten egg. Many thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Well, there is no substitute for eggs. You can skip it I guess.
Chris
This recipe looking much pretty and I must feel hungry. I will try this toningt. I wish I could get you Rasa to help me =D
Elena Erwin
Welp, I know what I am making tonight.Going to head to the store right now and get the ingredients. Thanks!
Jenny Brooks
What a tasty look! thanks for sharing. I’m making this recipe this weekend :)
hanna henschel
can use silken tofu?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes.
Cassie
I had a really bad day. When I got home I wanted comfort food, and today that meant hot and sour soup. I made the most basic version of this. Broth, mushrooms, onion powder, soy sauce (no dark), ginger powder, 1 egg, cornstarch, and vinegar (1/3 seasoned, 2/3 cider). I decided to go all out in the chile flakes and now it is soooo hate I can barely eat it! It’s so good though. Thank you!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Cassie, LOL, just follow my hot and sour soup recipe as is. You don’t need anything else.
Tina
My boyfriend loves hot and sour soup. He had surgery yesterday and is in some pain, so I wanted to do something nice for him. I made this and he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.
He was the official taste tester, as I had never had it before (I hate mushrooms, so never order it), and he said it tastes just like the kind you get in restaurants.
He doesn’t like mushrooms either (he always just dealt with it for the sake of the soup, he loves it that much), so I didn’t use any. Instead I used bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. That was the only change I made, other than using firm tofu instead of soft (which he ended up liking more, as it held up better and didn’t fall apart like the soft kind).
It took me quite a bit of searching to find this recipe, and I’m really glad I did. The rest were all so overly-complicated. Thank you so much for helping me do something special for the man I love on a day when he really needed a pick-me-up!
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome so glad you found my recipe. :)
Bill Gates
This soup is delicious.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes it is. Thanks!
Blake
Loved this type of soup when we were mountain biking through SE Asia – so glad I found a recipe now
Kelly
I can’t find dark soy sauce :( can I leave it out without affecting the taste or is there a substitute I can use?
Rasa Malaysia
You can leave it out.
Bonnie
I want to make this tomorrow. I have extra firm tofu and chestnut mushrooms so hoping that won’t make a huge difference. With regard to the soy sauce, I only have the regular. Should I use that or leave it out? Wasn’t sure if it added flavor too. Can’t wait to try. Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, that’s fine.
Danielle
I love hot and sour soup. Now I have to make this. Thanks for the simple and quick recipe.
pam
I made this soup today and it was DELICIOUS! I didn’t use corn starch but only because I prefer a thin broth. Easy,inexpensive and everyone raved about it! ^_^ Thank You!
Autumn SinClaire
I used chicken broth cubes to make stock….added a can of drained stir fry mushrooms plus the sliced button mushrooms….also added a LOT of chopped Bok Choy, twice as much tofu, Bamboo Shoots, green onions, and for lots more authentic flavor Wan Ja Shan oyster sauce. (This is so yummy…made from mushrooms, not oysters)…added a lot more Chinese Rice Vinegar, and besides some Tamari, Lee Kum Kee chili sauce with garlic. I must have eaten 4 bowls!!! Thanks for a lovely recipe!!
Tani Odorfer
Couple of questions.
Can I use lite soy sauce instead of regular?
What is dark soy sauce?
Seasoned or Unseasoned Rice Vinegar?
Rasa Malaysia
Regular soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is a dark color soy sauce that gives you the color. Unseasoned rice vinegar.
On Beyondzen
Sorry, this is nothing resembling real hot and sour soup. Doesn’t sound bad, but it is mislabelled. You need wood ear mushrooms and shiitake, for one thing, not to mention a bit of toasted sesame oil and chopped green onions
Rasa Malaysia
I did mention that this version is the Panda Express version. I do have a real hot and sour soup recipe in my cookbook Easy Chinese Recipes.
Liane Samarco
I was curious how the amount of “sodium” was calculated? awfully high
Marc Siegel
Hi, do you think I can use xanthan gum as substitute to cornstarch? I would love to hear from you soon and will definitely try this one if it works! Thank you!
Rasa Malaysia
I haven’t used xanthan gum so I don’t know.
Frank Maltby
Hi
Having made this soup I want to know what’s the best method keeping it, refrigerated or deep freeze.
Thank you
Rasa Malaysia
Refrigerated.
Lewis Horton
This stuff totally ROCKS!! its spot on to the local restaurants. I LOVE IT!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Lewis, thanks so much. Yes, all my recipes are restaurant quality. Please check out my recipe index: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Joanne Schultz
Yum! I convinced my sister we should make this at her house last week after we bought the tofu! It was wonderful!
Today I stopped at the Asian Market and bought most of the ‘Ingredients’ listed on your “ingredients” page so I could make just about any of your Asian recipes! Only thing I couldn’t find was the sweet soy sauce, so I ordered that from Amazon!
I like that your recipes are easy to make! I’d searched for hot & sour soup recipes before and they were a lot more complicated than yours.
And yours tastes so-o-o-o good!
Fay
Do you have to add the egg or can I substitute something else for egg? Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
You should add the egg, but you can opt out, too. It won’t taste like hot and sour soup without the egg.
Amberlin
I tend to use recipes as a starting point & change things as I go to make them my own.
Here, I used apple cider vinegar, though white will work equally well. I added in 1 1/2-2tbsp Sambal Oelek chili paste for a little spiciness. I omitted white pepper because I didn’t have it & as a foodie, I know the taste would have been very different to have used black pepper. I added 4tbsp vinegar & roughly 3c liquid (about 2c vegetable stock + 1c water) I am soy free so I used 3tbsp coconut aminos. I chopped in about 1/4c cilantro & squeezed in the juice from 1 lime. The soup is AMAZING! I will definitely be making this again!
Rasa Malaysia
Sounds yummy, glad you tried out this hot and sour soup.
Zach Liang
Hello Bee
I tested the soup in approximation with various ingredients and sounded great not only to me but also to more than 5 friends .Once I did it also for fasteening this Christmas
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome, I am so happy you tried my hot and sour soup!
Lily Yee
Your recipe for Hot and Sour Soup looks wonderful. I wanted to make it for my husband but I think the Nutrition Information provided may be off. The Carb count seemed awfully high to me so I ran your ingredients through a nutrition counter and came up with only 7.8 g carbs per serving, instead of 32.9 g. That’s a big difference for my husband’s diet.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Lily, you are right. The nutrition label is updated. :)