Hot and Sour Soup

Cozy and warming, ready in one pot.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Restaurant flavor in 40 minutes.
• Bracing, warming, and addictive.
• Lighter than most takeout.
• Customizable heat and sourness.
• One pot.

Ingredient Notes

• Dried shiitake (rehydrated) have far more umami than fresh — use the soaking liquid in the soup too.
• Silken tofu is traditional and silky.
• Real Chinkiang vinegar — at Asian markets — makes the dish.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Add julienned pork or chicken with the stock.
• Wood ear mushrooms for traditional texture.
• Vegetable stock for vegetarian.

Equipment Needed

• Soup pot
• Whisk
• Small bowl for slurry

Prep Tips

• Soak dried shiitake in hot water 20 minutes; strain liquid into the soup.
• Mix slurry just before adding — cornstarch settles.

Instructions

1. 1

   Gather and prep: 1 cup chicken broth, 1 tofu, 8 oz mushrooms, sliced, 1 large egg, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 ginger. grate the ginger before you start cooking.

2. 2

   Simmer broth with ginger, soy, vinegar. Simmer uncovered 5 more minutes to thicken if needed; taste and adjust salt and acid before serving.

3. 3

   Add mushrooms and tofu.

4. 4

   Thicken with cornstarch slurry.

5. 5

   Drizzle egg, stir.

Artsi Pro Tips

• White pepper (not black) is the soul — provides the 'hot.'
• Chinkiang vinegar is the authentic 'sour' — rice vinegar is a fine sub.
• Drizzle eggs slowly while stirring for delicate ribbons; dump them and you get scramble.

Common Mistakes

• Using black pepper — wrong flavor, no proper heat.
• Adding slurry to boiling soup — it clumps. Lower the heat first.
• Dumping eggs in — you want ribbons, not chunks.

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