Joanne Chang's Hot and Sour Soup
Author Notes: Restaurants and recipes for hot & sour soup invariably use cornstarch as a thickener, but it doesn't have to be that way. Yes, cornstarch plumps up the broth, but in doing so puts a hazy, viscous layer between us and the sour, spicy sting we crave. Chang's version is thickened with egg instead and makes a number of other smart updates without compromising what we love about the classic. From Flour, Too (Chronicle Books, 2013). —Genius Recipes
Serves 4 to 6
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 4 scallions, white and green parts, minced, plus more for garnish
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 4 cups store-bought or homemade chicken stock
- 1 pound soft or firm tofu (not silken and not extra firm), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 or 5 medium button mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced (or substitute dried, rehydrated wood ear mushrooms)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup rice vinegar, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil, plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce, or to taste
- 2 large eggs
- White or black pepper for garnish
- In the saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions, and pork and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute. You want to break up the pork into smaller pieces with a spoon, but donāt worry about breaking it down completely or cooking it through.
- Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the tofu, mushrooms, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, black pepper, sesame oil, and Sriracha sauce and bring the soup back to a simmer over medium-high heat. Taste the soup. If you want it hotter, add more Sriracha sauce; if you want it more sour, add more vinegar.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. With the soup at a steady simmer, slowly whisk in the eggs so they form strands. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Divide the soup among 4 to 6 bowls and garnish each with a little sesame oil, scallion, and white or black pepper. Serve immediately. (Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The soup may take on a slightly different appearance, but it will taste just the same.)
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes: Pork|Appetizers|Soups|Tofu|Soup
Topics: Soups
28 days ago Stacey
This recipe is perfection. My grade schoolers even love it and we look forward to it on a cold, rainy day!
7 months ago Megan
Knockout recipe! You know it's good when you forget an ingredient (the tofu, embarrasingly) and a garnish (scallions, used 'em all in Step 1) and your much-better-cook-than-you boyfriend still goes nuts for it! So delicious, so easy, and picking up tofu tomorrow to add to the leftovers!
11 months ago saucy sally
Made it exactly as written! Amazing!!!!! And how lucky are we, her Myers and Chang restaurant in Boston is just a few blocks away from us in Boston. It is like the one served in her restaurant.
11 months ago CanadaDan
Just made this and it was absolutely delicious, just like in a Chinese restaurant. I used sliced pork from some chops I had lying around instead of ground pork, and also added bamboo shoots and it was perfect. I froze the leftovers so it remains to be seen whether the veg and tofu withstand the freezing/thawing...
over 1 year ago sjlongin
I've always loved the flavor of hot and sour soup but the goopy consistency, not so much. This recipe solved that problem and was absolutely delicious. Also super quick and easy. I followed the recipe almost exactly, just swapping mushroom broth for the chicken and only using 1/2 cup rice vinegar because that's all I had. My family devoured it! Next time, a double batch...
over 1 year ago barbs--
Didn't have some of the ingredients on hand, but made this tonight subbing a lot of mushrooms for the pork and tofu. We also caramelized leeks in the oven with some of the sauces (olive oil, sriracha, vinegar and soya sauce), and added the leeks, hard boiled eggs, and tapioca noodles just before serving. Fantastic.
over 1 year ago Heidi Shires
I use Pacific Foods mushroom broth as my base. I also add a lot of veggies to bulk it up and make it as free-standing meal~ bamboo strips, bok choy, bean sprouts (as garnish) and chopped snow peas. This is truly one of my favorite recipes and am quite glad my kids aren't fans! More for me!
over 1 year ago Heidi Shires
I also add a GENEROUS amount of Five Spice. I grind my own so it isn't nearly as costly as buying it at the grocery.
over 1 year ago Kate McGinnis
add thin strips of bamboo shoots and you are good to go!
over 1 year ago Suma
eating this as we speak. Made the recipe exactly as written and love it
over 1 year ago Ellen
This looks really good! Will it keep for one or two days or not so much because of the eggs?
over 1 year ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Creative Director of Food52
Hi Ellen, it will keep just fine for a couple days in the fridge -- sorry for the delay.
over 1 year ago Stephanie
has anyone made this vegan with veg broth and no pork, any suggested substitutes
over 1 year ago LDGourmet
This would be delicious vegetarian or vegan. Add more mushrooms to amp up the umami.
over 1 year ago daisybrain
I use tempeh instead of pork and use lots of mushrooms. I also add bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and sometimes baby corn. We're not vegan but my husband does NOT like egg in soup so I always leave it out. They always say it is the best hot and sour soup ever.
over 1 year ago Heidi Shires
I use Pacific Foods Mushroom Broth in place of the chicken broth. I love the earthy flavor with the soup.
over 1 year ago Rey CompaƱeros
Loved it!
over 1 year ago Leslie H
Have made this many times, and it's a family favorite. We have soy allergies, so sub. one full pound of organic ground pork, and use coconut aminos for the soy sauce. Be careful on the amount of Sriracha. Maybe start with 2 tsp. and then add more if desired. If making a day ahead, wait to add the egg 'till reheating.
over 1 year ago LDGourmet
Added shredded cabbage (gives the soup a little texture and cabbage is so good this time of year) also cloud ear mushrooms. White pepper and szechuan chile oil. I think peas or edamame would be good and tiger lily buds which are a classic ingredient are nice if you can find them. I live on the edge of Chinatown and even so, they're only available intermittently.
We call it "seun lah tong" which is literally translated as "sour spicy soup" - it's a real "reviver" type of soup. Colds, blues, hangovers...
Also, I used half chicken, half beef stock - as this was what was on hand, kicking around the fridge.
Cilantro if you're in the "love it" camp, is very nice garnish.
over 1 year ago Lorenza
Very nice. I made a few changes. Had a slice of porchetta purchased from Costco during the holidays. Lovely. Added bamboo shoots, a must for hot and sour soup. Had a stalk of lemongrass and added a 6" piece to the simmer. No black vinegar, subbed a sharp balsamic. White pepper for the heat. Have been cold all day with the weather. Warm through and through now! This one is a keeper.
over 1 year ago Sherry
Better than anything I've had in a Chinese restaurant and I live in the San Francisco bay area where we have lots of them, and it's almost easier than ordering take-out. I bumped up the garlic, ginger, sriracha, soy sauce and sesame oil, to taste, and added finely shredded Napa cabbage at the end and topped it with cilantro before serving. I was a little worried because it wasn't a very traditional recipe, but the results were outstanding.
over 1 year ago erinrae
I love how this demystifies a soup many of us know, love, and probably have never attempted to make. The only thing I changed was adding a full pound of pork, because my husband and I tend toward the carnivorous. A generous tablespoon of Sriracha made it spicier than any I've had in a restaurant, but I liked it that way.
over 1 year ago JennifermcP
Just finished my second bowl of this delicious soup. I beefed it up a bit with sliced snow peas, sliced baby bok Choy and some udon noodles. Next time, less vinegar, more sriacha
over 1 year ago B A C O N
I like it when I see a recipe, and I have 90% of the ingredients already. This recipe absolutely rocked. Sooo easy to make. I had 2 bowls and starting looking at the pot for a 3rd. Thank you for posting it. The only thing I didn't have was fresh ginger, so I used powdered. Next time I will get the ginger fresh and perhaps add a little corn starch, as I like my hot and sour soup on the thicker side, and the eggs, while good, didn't thicken quite the way I like.
over 1 year ago bryan
This is my favorite recipe on Food52. I have made it a few times now, and plan to keep it in my Paprika file for a long time to come. The only thing I changed was the amount of rice vinegar, because it's REALLY vinegary as-is. Otherwise, it's glorious.