hot and sour soup recipe with step by step photos. this is a spicy, sour and hot vegetable soup from the indo chinese cuisine.
come winters and we really look forward to having hot bowl of soups in the season, even though we are not much of soup lovers. its the magic of winters, i think. it is not only soups, but we also prefer steaming hot lentils or veg stews.
soups are so comforting and warm in this cold and dry season. as a person who loves this season in india, i also look forward to the fresh vegetables and greens available in the local markets.
sharing today a favorite soup recipe from the fusion indo chinese cuisine. this soup recipe is aptly titled, hot and sour soup. the hot element comes from ingredients like chilies or black pepper. so either red chili paste or green chili sauce is added. adding the chili paste and sauce, gives the soup its pungent and hot taste. some folks add black or white pepper to get this quality of heat. in this recipe, i have added black pepper, as its easily available at home, than a chili sauce or paste.
the sour element in the soup comes from vinegar. i have added rice vinegar. you can also use a good quality chinese vinegar. even regular white vinegar can be added, if you don’t have rice vinegar. depending on the flavor and quality of the vinegar added, the soup will get its smoky and sour flavor.
veggies can be of your choice. even bamboo shoots, sprouts and tofu can be added. you can also add dried mushrooms. since dried mushrooms are not available here, i have added fresh button mushrooms. another similar spicy and hot soup recipe is manchow soup recipe made from mix vegetables.
the soup that they serve at restaurants is usually very thick, which we do not like. so i usually keep a slightly thin consistency. but if you want a slightly thick consistency, then just add 1 or 2 tsp more of the corn starch.
this hot and sour soup makes for a good starter recipe with an indo chinese menu. the recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. you can also have the leftover soup the next day.
how to make hot and sour soup
stir-frying veggies
1. first rinse and shred the cabbage and french beans. wipe the mushrooms with a wet cloth and then slice them. rinse, peel and grate the carrots. chop the onions, ginger and garlic. here i have added red cabbage, but you can easily add green cabbage.
2. heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan or wok/kadai. add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic.
3. stir and saute on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
4. then add the finely chopped french beans. stir.
5. add the sliced mushrooms.
6. on a medium to high flame, stir fry till the mushrooms get lightly browned from the edges.
7. meanwhile make a paste of corn starch and water. keep aside.
8. once the mushrooms are lightly browned (takes about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium to high flame) add carrots, cabbage and celery.
9. stir fry on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
making hot and sour soup
10. add water or veg stock.
11. stir well.
12. add soy sauce and stir.
13. then season with salt. keep a check on the amount of salt as soy sauce already has a lot of salt. i added just about one-fourth teaspoon first and adjusted towards the end.
14. bring the soup to a simmer on medium flame.
15. stir the corn starch paste and add it to the soup.
16. stir again very well.
17. allow the soup to thicken on a low to medium flame, which takes a couple of minutes.
18. when the soup has thickened, add black pepper or white pepper.
19. add rice vinegar or any good quality chinese vinegar.
20. give a final stir to the hot and sour soup. switch off the flame. check the taste and add more soy sauce, vinegar or salt or black pepper if required.
21. serve the veg hot and sour soup steaming hot garnished with coriander leaves (cilantro leaves). you can also just mix the coriander leaves in the soup, after adding vinegar and then serve hot n sour soup.
if you are looking for more soup recipes then do check:
hot and sour soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 small carrot Or about 50 grams carrots Or ¼ cup grated carrots
- 5 to 6 button mushrooms Or ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup shredded cabbage
- ¼ cup finely chopped french beans
- 1 small onion, finely chopped Or about ¼ cup finely chopped onions
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoon finely chopped celery optional
- 4 to 5 teaspoon corn starch dissolved in 2 tablespoon water (for a slight thicker consistency in the soup - dissolve 6 to 7 teaspoon corn starch in 3 tablespoon water)
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper or white pepper Or ¾ teaspoon red chili paste or green chili sauce
- 3 teaspoon soy sauce or add as required
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar or add as required
- 2.5 cups water or veg stock
- 2 to 3 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- salt as required
INSTRUCTIONS
preparation for hot and sour soup
- first rinse and shred the cabbage and french beans.
- wipe the mushrooms with a wet cloth and then slice them.
- rinse, peel and grate the carrots. chop the onions, ginger and garlic.
stir frying veggies for hot and sour soup
- heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan or kadai (wok).
- add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic. stir and saute on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
- then add the finely chopped french beans. stir and add the sliced mushrooms.
- on a medium to high flame, stir fry till the mushrooms get lightly browned from the edges.
- meanwhile make a paste of corn starch and water. keep aside.
- once the mushrooms are lightly browned (takes about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium to high flame) add carrots, cabbage and celery.
- stir fry these veggies on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
making hot and sour soup
- add water or veg stock. stir well. add soy sauce and stir.
- then season with salt.
- keep a check on the amount of salt as soy sauce already has a lot of salt. i added just about one-fourth teaspoon first and adjusted towards the end.
- bring the soup to a simmer on medium flame.
- stir the corn starch paste and add it to the soup. stir again very well.
- allow the soup to thicken on a low to medium flame.
- when the hot and sour soup has thickened, add black pepper or white pepper and vinegar.
- give a final stir. switch off the flame. check the taste and add more soy sauce, vinegar or salt or black pepper if required.
- serve the hot and sour soup steaming hot garnished with cilantro leaves.
- you can also just add the cilantro leaves towards the end and then serve the soup.
NOTES
- you can add veggies of your choice.
- the recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
Thanks to your blog,making soup has become very easy for me.i would refer to other recipes earlier where there was straining and hence wastage that I gave up.my hubby is very fond of soups so I make it almost daily especially in the winters and monsoons which we really enjoy.
Tried this and it was just delicious.
Try to give a feedback regularly just to let you know how your recipes have been helping me to prepare simple,tasty and healthy meals and also appreciate your efforts and the hard work that you put in.thanks once again.
Regards
Winnie
thanks winnie. i know about the straining and wastage of vegetables, which even i do not prefer. i will be adding two more soup recipes as i have got many requests for it. one is a light version and the second one is a heavier one with cream and cheese. will add in a couple of weeks.
i really appreciate your feedback in all the recipes you try and it always helps. it does take a considerable amount of time and effort to develop and test the recipe, then later take pics, then work on the pics and then work on the post. it is a process and takes some days or more depending on the recipe complexity. i also appreciate that you can relate to and understand the effort, hard work that goes in the entire process. thanks once more winnie and welcome.
Hi,
Thanks for the great recipe, it was a total hit in my house. just trying to eat healthy can you please suggest an alternative for cornstarch to?
thanks for the feedback. alternatives to corn starch are tapioca flour, arrowroot flour and potato starch flour. hope this helps.
Thanks for this great recipe. I made it without oil and mushrooms. Also added water chestnuts and put red hot sauce, serrano pepper, and black pepper to try and get it very spicy. Double or tripled the ginger too. It was totally a hit with my husband and I enjoyed too, which is saying something as I’m not generally a fan of hot and sour soup.
welcome april and thanks for sharing this lovely feedback. loved the variations you added in the soup. am sure they must have made the soup taste too good.
Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe. We enjoyed this hot and sour soup on a cold winter day.
Now let me tell you that I have been using your blog for many dishes. When my kids ask me what I’m making for dinner and I say it’s something new from vegrecipesofindia, they just know it’ll be good. In fact, my 8 year old son has been asking me to write and let you know how much we like your recipes. I rarely write reviews but I’m trying to change that (have to follow my son’s advice 🙂
I really appreciate your efforts in presenting recipes from different parts of India and the world with such accuracy and detail. All the recipes I have tried so far are well written and fool-proof. It’s as if you know what mistakes someone could make and add tips and substitutions indicating what would and would not work. Your presentation style instills an interest in cooking from scratch. Thank you for being an inspiration to cook a wide variety of things outside my comfort zone.
I was trying to see if there is a main page where I could leave this general feedback but didn’t see any. Hence thought of sharing my thoughts in this recipe comment itself. Once again, thanks and keep up the great work.
thank you very much deepa 🙏. please convey my thanks to your son too 🙂. also wish you and your family a happy new year with light, love and abundance.
i do take care of writing in details and also write about tips etc as i do know what can go wrong. do try more recipes as well and i am sure you will like them. we do not have any general feedback page. so the feedback is on the individual recipe page itself.
thanks again 🙂
Thank you Dassana. Wish you too a very Happy New Year 2018!
I definitely plan to try out more recipes. I’m also trying to add comments to all the recipes I have tried so far. It’s indeed a looooooong list 🙂
welcome deepa. sure do try more recipes. you can give feedback whenever you have time or are free. have a great new year.
Hi Mr. Amit….. I am a huge fan of urs recipe.. This recipe was superb… N SO Easy for working woman… My husband loved it…. Thank u very much… 🙂
Welcome Dr. Shruti. Thanks for your kind words and for giving positive feedback on this soup recipe.
Is it compulsary to use vinegar. Or any replacement can be done…
you can skip vinegar or add a bit of lemon juice on the soup is done.
hi dassana can i use tinned mushrooms for this soup?
you can use.
Hi Dassana,
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
Can you please suggest some healthy option to go with this soup apart from rice and breads?
nehal, usually soups pair very well with of course breads and pasta or noodles. you can have a side of some carbs like roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes or yam to go with the soup. even a dish like sautéed mushrooms or roasted mushrooms goes well with soups. you can also consider using brown rice. if you like pasta or noodles, you can use whole wheat pasta or noodles, if you are fine with processed foods. as both pasta and noodles are processed. another option which i personally prefer is some savoury rolled oats porridge plain or without veggies made with water/milk and a bit of cream. you can add a side of mashed potatoes too or roasted aubergines or blanched french beans salad. quinoa also can be paired.
Can I use Apple cider vinegar instead of chinese vinegar?
you can use apple cider vinegar. even i have used apple cider vinegar in absence of rice vinegar in chinese recipes.
hi ..um big fan of ur cooking n reciepes …i want to knw wzts the difference btwn hot n sour soyp n manchow soup n vegetable soup…plz lemme knw if any particular difference
thanks monika. i think the difference is that less pepper or chili sauce and less vinegar is added in manchow soup than hot & sour soup. also manchow soup is not served with fried noodles. but nowadays in restaurants, you will see both the soups being served with fried noodles. vegetable soup can be of two types – clear and thick. in a clear veg soup, one can add seasonings and flavorings of one’s choice and liking.
Thank you very much for the recipe. It is simple and tastes good
welcome sandhya and thanks for positive views.
very nice loved it…
thankyou gauthami 🙂
Can I make this soup without mushrooms??
yes you can skip the mushrooms.
Hi
I tried this. It turned out good. Unfortunately how much ever corn flour mixture I added it didn’t thicken how much ever I kept it on flame
Any idea
Thank you for the recipe. I’m happy.
thanks nanditha. corn flour should thicken the soup. so i am also wondering why the soup was not thickening. did you use the same cup measurement for all the ingredients?
Yeah,
No problem I will bring new pack of corn flour and try.
Thank you. All your recipes turns out tasty. Lot of thanks to you
sure nanditha do try and let us know how it was? glad you liked the recipe from our blog thankyou so much.
Another awesome recipe for winters. I added shallots along with spring onions and little bit of garlic salt and skipped coriander. It was delicious. we had only soup for dinner. Very filling. Thank you.
pleased to know this saf glad you liked the soup thnakyou for your positive words 🙂
Hello,
If we want to add red chili paste or green chili sauce, when should we add it?
poorna. add it before you add the water or veg stock.
Just tried this recipe for dinner tonight. I added in soft tofu and some other vegetables I had in the pantry, and it tasted so good! Definitely making this again, I’m so happy with how it turned out
Thanks MelissaM for sharing your positive feedback. glad to know this.
Thank you I love this soup.
welcome robert
Hi …….trying. For the first tym ……….process looks very easy …….. Thanks
welcome sonali
Hi, Dassana –
Wanted to let you know that I made this soup and really enjoyed it! I appreciated that it didn’t require any hard-to-find ingredients. Once your veggies are chopped, it comes together quickly and easily. I think this would be a great recipe for someone who is new to cooking but wants to expand their palate and repertoire. I used black pepper as the spice and it worked splendidly.
A couple of thoughts for others reading this – I added cubed tofu near the very end of cooking, which helped make this more of an entree. I also used Bragg’s Liquid Aminos in place of soy sauce; tasted great.
One suggestion for other readers – you might want to double or even triple this recipe. Not only is it delicious and will you want leftovers, but the recipe as-is makes a smaller amount. With only 2.5 cups of liquid, you’re looking at only 2 servings of soup, depending on your bowl size. And if you’re going to go through the effort of chopping all those vegetables, you might as well make more soup and have extra for the next day! I doubled the recipe and I’m happy I did.
Thanks so much for sharing this. Before becoming vegan, I always ordered hot and sour soup at restaurants. I’ve gotten it at a few restaurants here in LA, but I thought this recipe was just as good (and much cheaper to make at home!). Cheers!
hi nicole. agree on what you say. once the veggies are chopped its easy to put together. its is a good beginner recipe too. adding tofu makes it more wholesome and nutritious. thanks for sharing the suggestions. i have highlighted the part of doubling and tripling the recipe in the post. this recipe will serve 2 to 3, depending on the bowl size. what you say makes sense too. chopping the veggies etc. at least you doubled the recipe and thats good.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, and all others which I’ve come to use almost on a daily basis now.
best regards and cheers.
welcome bhavesh. good to know this.
Hello mam….
I made this soup, it was so yummy…
My all fmly loved it….they told me to make it again…..
thanks suvidha for sharing this positive feedback on soup. glad to know this.
Hi, can u please tell me what can be used in place of corn starch…
radha, you can try arrow root flour as a thickener.
Mushroom is compulsory in this recipe ? any option instead of mushroom?
awanti, mushroom is not compulsory. for protein you can add moong sprouts or tofu. or you can skip mushroom all together.
Dear Dassana, You both are doing wonderful job and my hearty Congrats for that. I specially want to Thank you for all cooking inspiration you provided by efforts to make any recipe simple with good graphic and short recipe listing at end. I almost follow all your recipes and i must say your blog is one of the best recipe blogs – specially for vegetarians like me.
Keep up good work and Thank you once again.
-Sangita.
welcome sangita. its very motivating to know that the blog is making a positive difference in readers life. i always feel good when i read such motivating feedback. thanks a lot for this sweet comment. it matters a lot to me.
Dear Dassana, first and foremost I am avid reader of your food blog,it is scrumptious and awesome. I have tried innumerable recipes from your blog and I really enjoy cooking. I want a small favour from you ,you had posted an article during dussehra how to start your blog and very invaluable tips were given. Can you please repost it ? If possible thank you so much keep up the good work.Reagards Sarita
welcome sarita. glad to know that you like the recipes. here is the link to start a food blog – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/how-to-start-a-food-blog/
Dear Dassana, thank you very much for the link.regards Sarita.
welcome sarita.
my fav soup.. looks wonderful
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
welcome rani