Famous Hot & Sour Soup
Submitted by todd
Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup with pork strips, dried lily buds, wood ear mushrooms, tofu, and silky egg ribbons. Restaurant-style takeout classic at home.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
15 minREADY
45 minAuthentic Chinese hot and sour soup with the dried specialty ingredients that lift it well past takeout. Lily buds bring a distinct, slightly tangy floral note, wood ear mushrooms add their signature soft-crunchy texture, and dried shiitake provide deep umami that fresh button mushrooms can’t match. Look for these at any Chinese grocery store, dried in cellophane bags.
The hot and sour balance is the dish’s defining characteristic. Heat comes from black or white pepper, not chiles. Sourness comes from rice vinegar, added late so it doesn’t cook off. Adjust both at the end to taste, since restaurant versions vary considerably from home cook to home cook.
The egg ribbon technique is what gives the soup its silky, lacy texture. Pouring beaten egg slowly into the hot, simmering soup while stirring continuously cooks the egg into thin shreds rather than scrambled clumps.
Pro Tips
- Partially freeze the pork before slicing. Firm meat cuts cleanly into thin even strips
- Soak the dried mushrooms, lily buds, and wood ears in hot water 30 minutes minimum. Underhydrating gives chewy results
- Adjust the cornstarch slurry to taste. The soup should coat a spoon lightly, not stand up like gravy
- Stir constantly while pouring the beaten egg in a thin stream for the prettiest ribbons
Variations
- Sub thinly sliced chicken breast for the pork for a lighter version
- Add a half cup of bamboo shoots or sliced water chestnuts for extra crunch
- Increase pepper and vinegar at the end to suit your hot-sour preference. Both can be doubled
Ingredients
Directions
Partially freeze pork; cut pork into 1x ¼ inch strips.
Sprinkle meat with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce.
Meanwhile, in three bowls soak lily buds, mushrooms, and tree ears in enough hot water to cover for 30 minutes.
Drain lily buds, mushrooms, and tree ears.
Cut off and discard tough stem end of lily buds.
Slice each lily bud into 1-inch lengths.
Thoroughly rinse tree ears under running water; drain well.
Cut off and discard stems.
Cut mushrooms and tree ears into thin strips.
In large saucepan bring chicken broth to boiling; stir in pork, the remaining soy sauce, lily buds, mushrooms, tree ears, rice wine vinegar and pepper.
Simmer covered, 10 minutes. Slice tofu into ¼ inch wide strips.
Add to soup simmer, covered, 3 minutes more.
Blend cold water into cornstarch.
Stir into soup.
Pour egg slowly into hot soup in a thin stream, beating constantly with fork until egg cooks and shreds finely.
Cook soup until slightly thickened and bubbly.
Remove from heat.
Stir in thinly sliced green onion.
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