Easy Hot and Sour Soup
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
This easy hot and sour soup is so much tastier and faster than delivery. Made in just 30 min, start to finish, with homemade wonton strips!
Featured Comment
I made this because I was craving my soup so badly, but I have to stay low sodium; that doesn’t work for a restaurant. I made it. I LOVED it! After making it, my daughter dragged me down to a favorite restaurant. Just to see, I decided to order Hot & Sour Soup there. Your recipe was better!! (That’s accounting for modifying the recipe for low-sodium) …and once you’ve made it, it gets easier every time … it’s totally become my go to.
Why you’ll love this easy hot and sour soup
- Takeout favorite. Hot and sour soup is a quintessential takeout classic that you can easily make right at home, tasting even better using good-quality ingredients and customizing to taste.
- 30 min recipe (or less). This cozy soup comes together in lightning speed in just 15-20 minutes, once all of the ingredients are prepped and ready to go.
- Great for fighting a cold. This is an incredibly nourishing soup to help fight a cold or when you’re feeling under the weather – it’s easy to digest, clears up congestion, and provides hydration.
what is hot and sour soup?
Hot and sour soup is a classic Chinese soup typically made with mushrooms, sesame oil, egg, cornstarch, and of course vinegar for its enhanced sourness.
How to make hot and sour soup
- Make the crispy wonton strips.
- Cut the store-bought wonton wrappers into strips.
- Heat the oil (325-375°F) in a Dutch oven over medium high heat, then add the wonton strips in small batches, cooking until golden brown and crispy, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate or wire cooling rack to remove the excess oil.
- Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container 1-2 days in advance at room temperature.
- Make the cornstarch slurry. Whisk together the cornstarch and water until completely smooth and lump-free.
- Sautéed the aromatics. Cook the garlic and ginger in a little bit of oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until fragrant, then stir in the shiitake mushrooms until wilted.
- Simmer the base. Stir in the chicken stock, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, and pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes. Then stir in the drained, cubed tofu.
- Thicken the soup. Stir in the cornstarch slurry until glossy and thick.
- Stir in the eggs. Lower the heat, then slowly add the beaten egg in a thin stream while gently stirring the soup until the egg is set.
- Finish. Remove from heat and stir in the green onions and sesame oil before sprinkling with crispy wonton strips on top and serving warm.
what to serve with hot and sour soup
Tools For This Recipe
Easy Hot and Sour Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find wonton wrappers?
Wonton wrappers are available at most grocery stores as well as Asian specialty markets by the refrigerated aisle, typically next to the tofu.
What other oils can I use to cook the wonton strips?
We recommend using a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
Can I make the crispy wonton strips ahead of time?
Yes! The wonton strips can be made 1-2 days in advance.
What can I substitute for the shiitake mushrooms?
White, cremini and wood ear mushrooms can be used as well.
How can I make this a thicker soup?
For a more thicker consistency, add additional cornstarch (about 1-2 teaspoons) to the cornstarch-water mixture.
How can I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Easy Hot and Sour Soup
This easy hot and sour soup is so much tastier and faster than delivery. Made in just 30 min, start to finish, with homemade wonton strips!
Video
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 (3.5-ounce) packages fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- 7 cups chicken stock
- 1 (8-ounce) can sliced bamboo shoots, drained and cut into slivers
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (8-ounce) package firm tofu, drained and cubed
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the crispy wonton strips
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 (12-ounce) package wonton wrappers, cut into strips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; set aside.
- Heat canola oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in mushrooms until wilted, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in chicken stock, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, rice vinegar, fish sauce, chili garlic sauce and pepper.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Stir in tofu.
- Stir in cornstarch mixture, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. While stirring the soup, gradually add eggs in a slow steady stream. Cook until the eggs are set, stirring frequently to create ribbons, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in green onion and sesame oil.
- Serve immediately with crispy wonton strips.
For the crispy wonton strips
- Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Working in batches, add wonton strips to the Dutch oven and fry until evenly golden brown and crispy, about 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Equipment
Notes
- Homemade wonton strips goes a long way. Store-bought will save some time in the kitchen but the homemade version below requires only 2 ingredients and tastes so much more fresh, crisp and light-textured.
- Use a heavy pot. A heavy bottom pot, such as a Dutch oven, is ideal here for even heat distribution for the hot oil.
- Cook in batches. If too many wonton strips are added at once, the oil temperature will drop and the wontons will absorb too much oil, resulting in soggy wonton strips.
- Make ahead. The crispy wonton strips can be made 1-2 days in advance, stored in an airtight container at room temperature once cooled completely.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Add more vinegar. If you like your soup particularly sour, add additional vinegar, to taste.
- Make it vegetarian. Use vegetable stock for the chicken stock, skipping the fish sauce as well.
- Lower the heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting before adding in the beaten egg in a slow, thin stream. A rolling boil will scramble the egg instead.
- Mix it up. Swap out the tofu for cooked beef, chicken or pork.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Great recipe, but I’m surprised that you use canola oil which is usually GMO, I use organic avocado oil instead. You might want to research canola oil, it’s not very good for you at all
But I do love your recipes
Best recipe I’ve tried! Loved it and simple to make.
Can you freeze this soup?
We have been making this recipe regularly since 2021. The only thing I find is it is not as thick as other Hot and Sour Soups. Dumb question, should I just use more cornstarch?
I could kiss you right now! We have a Chinese restaurant near us that we frequent, and the last time I went, they’re hot and sour soup was not up to par. I think the older couple that owned it passed it on to the younger couple that’s doing it now and he has no idea how to make hot and sour soup. It’s my favorite Asian soup and when I saw this recipe I was over the moon! I added significantly more of the chili garlic sauce because I like it spicy. I have to say this is one of the best hot and sour soups I’ve ever had and now I don’t have to depend on a restaurant when I get a craving!
I love your videos! Thank you for having such a passion for cooking & sharing! I made this because I was craving my soup so badly, but I have to stay low sodium; that doesn’t work for a restaurant, lol.
I made it. I LOVED it! After making it, my daughter dragged me down to a favorite restaurant. Just to see, I decided to order Hot & Sour Soup there. Your recipe was better!! (That’s accounting for modifying the recipe for low-sodium, lol) …and once you’ve made it, it gets easier every time … it’s totally become my “go to” 🙂
Thank you!
Better than takeout! I just finished making my first pot of your Hot and Sour Soup. The recipe was easy to follow & used easy to find ingredients! Hot and Sour soup is my favorite. And now your recipe is my favorite too!
It made my nose run when eating this soup, which is always a good sign!
THIS SOUP is so bomb! I’m so stoked that now I can have it at home. This is one of the best Hot & Sour Soups I’ve ever had. The best part about this? * I * made it! Right here. In my own kitchen! THANK YOU for the wonderful recipes!!!
Best hot and sour soup I’ve ever had. Followed the recipe exactly. Couldn’t find regular chili garlic sauce so I used crunchy, maybe it’s all the same.
Love this soup. Best recipe I have found. I also would like to know more about the “seasoned rice vinegar”.
What kind of Seasoned Rice Vinegar do you use?
Absolutely delicious! So easy too! I used bone broth and 2 eggs. Will make again and again
This is absolutely delicious!
Yes. I absolutely love this recipe. It is delicious.
I followed the recipe closely since I am new to working with tofu and Asian food in general. The soup was amazing but it didn’t say when to put in the tofu. Being a novice and not having noticed when I read through the directions several times before starting, I was in a mad dash to search other recipes to figure it out on the fly. Otherwise, I added thinly sliced red radish and thinly sliced boneless pork and the recipe went smoothly. Will be adding this one to the keeper files!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Christine! The tofu is added in step 7.
7. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Stir in tofu.
Looks yummy! Definitely no to tofu and yes to chicken instead!
Wow, very impressed with this recipe! Thanks so much for providing it for us. I followed the recipe closely and was amazed by the deep, delicious flavors. Shiitake mushrooms rule!
Do so good! My husband and I were constantly making “yum” sounds. It took me a month to get shitakes so when I found them today I was excited to make this after work. Absolutely delicious! I will be making this regularly (when I can get shitakes). The only thing that made me slightly shake my head was the 15 minute prep time lol. But I wouldn’t pay almost twice the price for sliced mushrooms.
Yum! We love this. Even better on second day!