Hot and Sour Soup

prep 5 minutes, cook 25 minutes
× 4
This almost exactly replicates the hot and sour soup you're used to from your favorite Chinese restaurant. While it can feel a little like a chemistry experiment as you're adding small amounts of a lot of different things, it's not really that complicated, and is fairly quick to make.

1

  • ¼ lb
    pork, ground
In a frying pan, cook the ground pork on medium-high heat until crumbled and browned.

2

  • 4 cups
    chicken stock
  • ½ cup
    mushrooms, crimini (sliced)
  • ½ cup
    mushrooms, shitake (sliced)
  • ⅓ cup
    bamboo shoots (diced)
In a large, tall saucepan, add the stock, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and pork. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until the bamboo shoots are soft, and the mushrooms have reduced in size (about 10 min).

3

  • 1 tsp
    salt, fine
  • ½ tsp
    sugar, granulated
  • ½ tsp
    pepper, white
  • 2 tbsp
    vinegar, rice
  • 1 tsp
    tamari
  • 1 tsp
    sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp
    cornstarch
  • 3 tbsp
    water
Add the salt, sugar, pepper, vinegar, tamari, and sesame oil. In a separate bowl, add the corn starch to the water and mix until completely combined. While whisking continuously, slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup.

4

  • 8 oz
    tofu, extra firm
Bring the soup back to a boil while stirring constantly, and add the tofu. Cook briefly until the tofu has come up to temperature (about 2 min).

5

  • 1
    egg
  • 2 tbsp
    onion, green (diced)
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until completely blended. Turn off the heat on the soup, and slowly drizzle the egg into the soup while stirring continuously. Garnish with the green onions.