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Cook With Dana

Authentic Hot And Sour Soup

November 6, 2021

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hot and our soup with eggs

Authentic Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and sour soup is often served at many Chinese restaurants in the United States. The soup originates from Sichuan province in China where their dishes are known to be spicy. My uncle made this hot and sour soup at his Chinese restaurant many years ago and his customers loved this soup! This recipe is a vegetarian hot and sour soup and really tasty for a cold day!

hot and sour soup with mushroom and eggs

Food substitutions

Some of the ingredients may be hard to find if you don’t have a Chinese grocery store near you. I listed some substitutions below if you don’t have the ingredients:

  • You can sub the dried lily flower with enoki mushrooms or omit. The texture of the dried lily flower is slightly chewy and fragarant. I highly recommend to have it if you want to make authentic hot and sour soup.
  • An alternative to the wood ear mushroom is shiitake mushrooms or any mushroom you have on hand.
  • An alternative to dried orange peel is to add 1 tablespoon of fresh orange zest. If you don’t have either of these, I would omit the dried mandarin peel in the soup. Omitting this ingredient would lose a slight citrus taste in the soup.

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR HOT AND SOUR SOUP:

  • 1/4 cup dried lily flower (edible flower of the daylily plant. it is known for their delicate & earthy flavor) – see substitutions
  • 1/4 cup dried wood ear mushroom – see substitutions
  • 1/2 piece dried mandarin peel – see substitutions
  • 1 cup bamboo shoots
  • 1/2 package soft tofu
  • 7 cups water
  • 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoon mushroom bouillon
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1.5 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce
  • 1 tablespoon white pepper (adjust according to your spice tolerance)
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • corn starch slurry (2 tbs corn starch + ¼ cup water)
  • 2 eggs, beaten

Steps to make the hot and sour soup:

  1. Soak wood ear mushrooms, lily flowers, and the mandarin peel for 30 minutes to 1 hour. After soaking they should fluff up. Give them a rinse. Slice the mushroom and flowers thinly. Make sure to slice the mandarin peel very thinly!
  2. Slice the tofu in strips. Set aside.
  3. In a large pot, boil 7 cups of water on medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the wood ear mushrooms, lily flowers, mandarin peel, tofu, and bamboo shoots. Cook for 5 minutes.
  4. While the soup is cooking, beat two eggs and set aside. Make corn starch slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons of corn starch with 1/4 cup water and set aside.
  5. Start adding flavor to the soup. Add 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoon mushroom bouillon, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1.5 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce, 1 tablespoon white pepper (adjust according to your spice tolerance), 3/4 cup white vinegar, and 3 tablespoons sesame oil. Mix everything together and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  6. Mix cornstarch slurry and slowly add in the soup. Continue to stir while adding.
  7. Add beaten eggs to the soup and continue to stir while adding.
  8. Serve while hot. Hope you enjoy!
hot and sour soup
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5 from 1 vote

Hot and Sour Soup

This soup is sour and spicy. The flavor will warm your body up and it tastes amazing!
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time15 mins
Course: Main Course
Keyword: egg drop soup, vegetarian
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup dried lily flower sliced thinly
  • ¼ cup dried wood ear mushroom sliced thinly
  • ½ piece dried mandarin peel sliced very thinly
  • 1 cup bamboo shoots
  • ½ package soft tofu
  • 7 cups water
  • ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup dark soy sauce
  • 1½ tablespoon white pepper adjust according to your spice tolerance
  • ¾ cup white vinegar add an additional ¼ cup if you like more sour
  • 3 tablespoon sesame oil
  • corn starch slurry 2 tablespoons corn starch + ¼ cup water
  • 2 eggs beaten

Instructions

  • Soak wood ear mushrooms, lily flowers, and the mandarin peel for 30 minutes to 1 hour. After soaking they should fluff up. Give them a rinse. Slice the mushroom and flowers thinly. Make sure to slice the mandarin peel very thinly!
  • Slice the tofu in strips. Set aside.
  • In a large pot, boil 7 cups of water on medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the wood ear mushrooms, lily flowers, mandarin peel, tofu, and bamboo shoots. Cook for 5 minutes.
  • While the soup is cooking, beat two eggs and set aside. Make corn starch slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons of corn starch with 1/4 cup water and set aside.
  • Start adding flavor to the soup. Add 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoon mushroom bouillon, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1.5 tablespoon siracha hot sauce, 1 tablespoon white pepper (adjust according to your spice tolerance), 3/4 cup white vinegar, and 3 tablespoons sesame oil. Mix everything together and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  • Mix cornstarch slurry and slowly add in the soup. Continue to stir while adding.
  • Add beaten eggs to the soup and continue to stir while adding. Serve while hot. Hope you enjoy!

Video

@cookwithdana

here is the perfect soup to warm up your belly 😋 #goodsoup #chinesefood #foodtiktok #asianrecipes

♬ 그럼에도 불구하고 (Inst.)(Nevertheless (Inst.)) – Instrumental – DONO

Notes

see substitutions for dried lily flower, wood ear mushroom and mandarin peel

Did you make this recipe? 💖

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in Appetizer, Main Dishes, Side Dishes # hot and sour soup, soup, vegetarian

Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Juan Carlos says

    November 6, 2021 at 3:08 am

    Can you send this recipe to my email please? Thank you

    Reply
  2. Juan Carlos says

    November 6, 2021 at 3:08 am

    5 stars
    Delicious

    Reply
  3. Su says

    November 7, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    Can you tell how many servings or how many cups of soup this makes? I am only one person and can’t eat so much. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Cook With Dana says

      December 20, 2021 at 5:22 pm

      Hi there ◡̈ It serves 4! I think you will extra leftovers too. For one person, I would divide the recipe in half.

      Reply

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Hi there, I'm Dana and I create Asian recipes that are yummy and easy for everyone to make! I hope my food reminds you of a little taste of home.

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