Recipe byThe ZestyPlate Kitchen
A classic Chinese tangy, peppery broth with tofu, mushrooms, wood ear and pork, thickened and swirled with egg. Warming and full of flavour.
Hot and sour soup is one of those takeaway classics that's well worth making at home. The broth plays fiery white pepper against sharp vinegar, with silky tofu, mushrooms and tender pork in the mix and ribbons of egg swirled through at the end. It comes together quickly and is exactly what you want when you're feeling a bit run down.
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Prep 15 min
Cook 15 min
Total 30 min
Easy
Scale:
- 1/3 cup Mushrooms
- 1/3 cup Wood Ear Mushrooms
- 2/3 Cup Tofu
- 1/2 cup Pork
- 2-1/2 cups Chicken Stock
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Sesame Seed Oil
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Hotsauce
- 1-½ cups Vinegar
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbs Cornstarch
- 2 tbs Water
- 1/4 cup Spring Onions
Tags:
Soup
Preparation
- Pour the chicken broth into a wok and bring it to the boil.
- Add the salt, sugar, sesame oil, white pepper, hot pepper sauce, vinegar and soy sauce, and stir for a few seconds.
- Add the tofu, mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms.
- To thicken, whisk together 1 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water and trickle it into the soup, a little at a time, until it reaches the thickness you want.
- Slowly pour in 1 lightly beaten egg, stirring for around 8 seconds.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the BBQ pork and sliced spring onions.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Taste at the end and adjust the balance, adding more vinegar or more pepper until the hot and the sour are where you want them.
- Wood ear mushrooms give that classic slippery-crunchy texture, so use them if you can find them.
- Add the cornstarch slurry a little at a time, stopping once the soup turns silky rather than gluey.
- Pour the beaten egg in a slow, thin stream while you stir, and you'll get fine, delicate ribbons.
Frequently Asked Questions
From vinegar, usually black or rice vinegar, stirred in near the end. The 'hot' comes mainly from white pepper rather than chilli, which gives it a distinctive warmth.
Use vegetable stock, leave out the pork, and bump up the tofu and mushrooms. It's just as satisfying without the meat.
A dark, crinkly mushroom valued for its springy, slightly crunchy bite rather than any strong flavour. Dried ones plump up in warm water.
Too much cornstarch. Add the slurry slowly next time and stop as soon as the soup is lightly thickened and silky, well short of a gravy consistency.
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