Easy Hot and Sour Soup
by Chungah
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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!
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”.
Thank you!
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”.
Thank you!
reasons to make hot and sour soup
- Cozy, comforting and quick to make in 30 min or less
- Takeout favorite, tasting even better at home
- Best for cold-fighting, helping to clear congestion
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!
Looks great. After reading reviews I will add try with adding more heat, pork strips and bamboo shoots.
I want to know the carbs. You say nutritional information added at the end of the recipe, I don’t see it. Thank you
So friggin good! I was eating this tonight wishing it was raining outside and I didn’t feel well (not really). This is my new chicken noodle soup. That delicious flavorful soup that just makes you feel better.
my favorite soup ….. looks amazing
problem: you mention NOT to forget the important HOMEMADE WONTON STRIPS
NOT INCLUDED IN RECIPE ???
now, I need the wontons BEFORE I make the soup
please ….. thank you
It is the very first item in the recipe.♀️
What about the crispy won tons???
The first step of the recipe.
I have not made the soup yet but it looks AMAZING! Quick dumb question: where is the recipe or directions for the homemade won ton strips? Cannot seem to find that and I definitely want to include them in the final product.
So good!!! Is there a recipe available for the homemade wonton strips?
This is a killer recipe! I’ve made this at least a dozen times now. I do add some thin strips of pork too, and sometimes I will add some dried fungus from the Asian market if I have it on hand. My family absolutely loves this. It can be a great side for a Asian feast, or sometimes I make it as a main dish and maybe make a side of potstickers. I’ve passed this recipe to every person I’ve ever made it for too, as they think it is fabulous too!
Ahhmazing. Simple recipe, and incredibly tasty. I love all things spicy so I increased the ginger and Sriracha just a bit. I also am not a fan of cornstarch so I reduced to just a scant tablespoon. Thank you!!
This soup is amazing! Just curious though, you say 6 servings. How large is a serving? I would like to avoid manually measuring the finished product if you have the information already. If not, I guess I will have to.
Chungah this soup is Damn Delicious ! It is absolutely the best Hot & Sour Soup I’ve ever had . Outstanding recipe, easy to follow and absolutely amazing. I’ve made it twice & heaven knows I’ll make it many more times . Can’t wait to cook some of your other recipes .
GREAT
I love this soup and have made it twicc. I forage my own oyster mushrooms and wood ears for this recipe. i always increase the onions, garlic, and vinegar, plus throw some red chili flakes in for extra hot. Thanks for posting, it is damn delicious!!
My soup was amazing!!! I will make it again!
Thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely the best recipe for Hot & Sour soup!!! I was so impressed- it was easy to make and totally delicious. I didn’t have to try to find obscure ingredients like dried lotus roots or wood ear mushrooms. I absolutely loved this and so did my family. I didn’t have Sriracha, so I used chinese chili oil instead and it was great. I’m so happy because there are no good places for this soup near me, and now I can make it easily and more healthy at home. Thanks!
Very nice soup any day of the week!
I just used more sriracha – like it spicer!
This was amazing. I love this soup and always order it when we order Chinese take out. I had no idea how easy it was. I followed the recipe to a T and it came out fabulous! Thank you!
Good presentation of the recipe. I eat a lot of this soup, but I always bought it. I am gathering the components and I will make it myself. With your help, I will be just fine 🙂
Quick question. though – I would like to know the recipe for the typical dry noodles that are coming with the soup, when bought….
Thank you
Hi Daniela! Typically there are no noodles included in a traditional hot and sour soup.
I added my small pieces of freshly made garlic chicken in the soup instead of tofu. My soup did not thicken a lot but it had excellent flavor and I enjoyed it a lot. This was quick and easy.
Thanks, Sue!
So…my husband is sick with a cold and I needed a quick hot’n’sour soup for him. I made this in a double batch the first time, gone in a day. Made another single batch today and added a few things (1) grated carrot (2) fresh/rice noodles (3) diced up fresh spinach & (4) McCormick Siracha Seasoning. Oh dear God….
He finished off 3 bowls of it and is not sleeping like a baby. I shared it on facebook and now friends are making it, since it is cold and flu season after all.
Seriously going to be a staple in our home even when we are all healthy lol~
this recipe is REALLY like a restaurant. I added some more mushrooms, red cabbage, and used a little more garlic and vinegar. but I will make this recipe again and again!