Easy Hot and Sour Soup
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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!
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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?
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Excellent recipe! Didn’t have bamboo shoots or shiitake, but made with handful of button mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and celery!delicious!
I made this tonight for dinner. I added very thin slices of pork loin and sautéed those up with the garlic and ginger. My husband said it was better than either of the Vietnamese restaurants that we frequent. I totally agree. It was delicious served with a pile of fried wonton strips!! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Absolutely the best ever. Deep flavor and awesome just-right heat. Some viewers seem to think the won ton wrappers are made from scratch ~ I assumed you were talking about ready-made. I can’t imagine MAKING won tons!
Big Yummy. I didn’t have bamboo shoots or tofu so I used rice noodles. It was really really good. This is now my go to, hankering for Chinese or soup, recipe!
I hate fish sauce and I always just add in extra soy sauce instead, sometime a little lime as well!
I made this recipe for my family and it turned out better than the restaurant version. I will definitely share and make this again. Everyone loved it!
This is a tasty soup
This soup is Double Damn Delicious!! I’ve missed Panda’s soup, but no longer. Your recipe tastes EXACTLY like theirs. My husband and I both slurped it down like ravenous dogs! A definite keeper!!
Turned out great!! Had to make a minor modification due to allergies, omitted the fish sauce, added diced orange peppers, and bok choy. Also cooked it a little longer and it got spicier. I will make it again!
I have made this several times, and saved this site. It looks like the recipe has changed a bit. I remember just using Sirracha and not the Chile garlic sauce. Was this a modification, or am I not remembering correctly?
You are remembering correctly. I’ve saved and printed the original recipe so I don’t lose it. Basically the same, but the previous one didn’t have fish sauce, bamboo shoots, or Chile sauce.
Does this freeze well? before adding the egg and wontons of course.
Okay so, am I the only one who’s squeamish about using fish sauce? Is fish sauce absolutely necessary?
If so, what is the best brand (best quality)?
I’d say red boat is a definite favorite. A little goes a long way and the umami it gives is well worth having.
Fish sauce adds NO fishy flavor. Do not hesitate to use it. If you ever order out for Asian food it is probably already in just about everything you are eating
Hot and Sour Soup is one of my favorite dishes, when done right. I’ve tried every recipe I could find to make this at home without success UNTIL I tried this recipe. It’s delicious! I skipped the wonton wrappers (just don’t care for them in soup) but proceeded as written otherwise…very, very good…yummy. Makes a very nice pot of soup and more than enough for a second or third day of leftovers which is good because this recipe is actually better on the second day. Just love this recipe!
Great recipe, we make it all the time!
Has this recipe been updated recently? Some of the ingredients seem to call for different amounts now and some of the method seems different than I remember.
Delicious!!!! I’ve made this twice already because my family loooooves it! I never thought I’d be able to make my own hot and sour soup but you made it so simple. I followed the recipe to the T and it’s just as good, if not better, then any Chinese restaurant! I make dumplings on the side and it’s the perfect meal! This is definitely a staple for us now. Thank you!!!
Can I substitute vegetable broth for the chicken?
Of course! I’m not the OP but that would be perfectly fine. Chicken broth is traditional but it would taste very close to the same and be vegetarian minus the fish sauce. The fish sauce I think would make a difference. I made this exactly except I used 2 less cups of broth. It came out perfect!
Love this recipe, reminds me of my favorite place in the Bay Area that I haven’t had in 3+ years since moving away! Thanks for this and all your great recipes 🙂
I cannot believe how easy this was and how delicious. I subbed GF Soy Sauce to make it gluten free and added a little extra chili garlic sauce for extra kick. This came together in 20 min. So quick and delicious.
We love your soup thanks for sharing.