Hubs loves, loves, loves Chinese Hot & Sour soup. Every time we visit a
Chinese restaurant we start the meal with a big steaming hot bowl of this tasty soup. He loves the sour tanginess that is traditional with this soup!
I came across this recipe in a Cooks Illustrated (published 4/27/2020) magazine that I picked up on a recent trip to the supermarket. When I saw how easy it is to make this soup I knew I had to give it a try. My only complaint was that it wasn’t “sour” enough, so I added Rice wine vinegar and Shoaxing cooking sherry to the recipe until I got that lovely, familiar pucker in my mouth from the “sour” that this soup is famous for.
If you enjoy that “sour” flavor profile, you are going to enjoy this soup immensely! No need to hit up your favorite Chinese restaurant when you see how easy it is to make this lovely traditional Chinese soup at home!
Start by placing a block of firm tofu on a paper towel lined plate.
Top with a heavy pan and let tofu drain for 15-20 minutes, until it releases about a ½ cup of liquid. Once tofu has released it’s liquid, cut tofu into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
Prepare dried mushrooms.
Place dried mushrooms in enough boiling water to cover the mushrooms and allow mushrooms to soak for 20-30 minutes or until they are soft and mushrooms are fully rehydrated. Drain and slice. Set aside.
Slice pork tenderloin into thin strips and then into matchstick sized pieces.
In a small dish, whisk together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil to make a marinade for the pork.
Add the sliced pork and stir to coat sliced pork with soy/sesame/cornstarch marinade. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.
In a small dish, combine 3 tablespoons water with 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Set aside.
In another small bowl, combine egg, ½ teaspoon cornstarch and 1 teaspoon water. Beat egg to combine. Set aside.
In another small bowl, combine 5 tablespoons black vinegar, 2 tablespoons Shaoxing sherry, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons chili oil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Stir to combine ingredients and set aside.
In a large stockpot bring chicken broth to a boil over medium high heat.
Stir in sliced bamboo shoots.
Add sliced mushrooms.
Simmer for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms and bamboo shoots are tender.
Add marinated pork to the pot and stir to separate pieces.
Stir in cubed tofu. Continue to simmer soup until pork it cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes.
Stir cornstarch/water mixture to recombine, then add to the soup. Simmer until soup starts to thicken.
Add vinegar/sherry/soy/pepper mixture and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer.
Once soup is hot, remove pot from heat and using a spoon, drizzle egg/cornstarch mixture into the soup in a circular motion. Allow soup to sit for 1 minute before returning the soup back onto the heat.
Return soup to heat, and stir soup gently to break up ribbons of egg.
Serve soup topped with sliced scallions or chives.
Now all that’s left to do is to slurp up a steaming bowl of this tasty soup!
Round out the meal and serve this soup with a side of traditional Green Scallion Pancakes. Not only are they utterly crunchy and delicious with a delectable dipping sauce, but they pair perfectly with a steaming bowl of this Hot & Sour Chinese soup!
YUM!!! Easy and tasty! The perfect Asian inspired meal for a cold winter evening.
Chinese Hot & Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 8 oz firm tofu, cubed
- ¼ cup soy sauce, divided
- 3½ tbsp Cornstarch, divided
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 8 oz. pork tenderloin, cut into thin matchstick size strips
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp water
- 1 large egg
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 5 oz can bamboo shoots, drained and cut into matchsticks
- 1 oz dried Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and thinly sliced
- 5 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 2 tbsp Shoaxing cooking sherry
- 2 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp chili oil
- 1 tsp finely ground pepper
- 3 stalks green onions or a handful of chives, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place block of tofu on a paper towel lined plate and top with a heavy pan. Let tofu drain for 15-20 minutes, until it releases about a ½ cup of liquid.
- Once tofu has released it's liquid, cut tofu into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
- Place dried mushrooms in enough boiling water to cover mushrooms and allow mushrooms to soak for 20-30 minutes or until they are soft and mushrooms are fully rehydrated. Drain and slice. Set aside.
- Slice pork tenderloin into thin strip and then into matchstick sized pieces.
- In a small dish, whisk together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Add sliced pork.
- Stir to coat sliced pork with soy/sesame/cornstarch marinade. Set aside to marinate for 20-30 minutes.
- In a small dish, combine 3 tablespoons water with 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, combine egg, ½ teaspoon cornstarch and 1 teaspoon water. Beat egg to combine. Set aside.
- In another small bowl, combine 5 tablespoons black vinegar, 2 tablespoons Shaoxing sherry, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons chili oil, 1 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Stir to combine ingredients and set aside.
- In a large stockpot bring chicken broth to a boil over medium high heat.
- Stir in sliced bamboo shoots and sliced mushrooms.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes, until mushrooms and bamboo shoots are tender.
- Add marinated pork to the pot and stir to separate pieces.
- Stir in tofu and continue to simmer soup until pork it cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in reserved cornstarch/water mixture and simmer until soup thickens.
- Add vinegar/sherry/soy/pepper mixture and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer.
- Once soup is hot, remove from heat and using a spoon, drizzle egg/cornstarch mixture into the soup using a cirular motion. Allow soup to sit for 1 minute before returning soup back to the heat source.
- Stir soup gently to break up ribbons of egg and ensure egg is cooked through.
- Serve soup topped with sliced scallions or chives.
Did You Make This?
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My favorite soup. Have not tried you recipe But the secret to not maintaining “sour” flavor is to put the rice wine vinegar on the table for guests to add to soup.