Hot And Sour Soup (cup) Recipe

Combine and simmer

In a small saucepan, combine the chicken or vegetable stock (2 cups) and water (1 cup). Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

Add soy sauce (1 tbs), rice vinegar (2 tbs), chili garlic sauce (1 tsp), white pepper (1 tsp) and salt (1/4 tsp). Taste and adjust heat/vinegar to preference — hot-and-sour should be balanced, slightly more vinegar if you want more sour, more chili for heat.

Add solids

Once the broth is simmering, add the sliced shiitake mushrooms (1/2 cup), bamboo shoots (1/4 cup), and julienned tofu (1/2 cup). Stir and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes until mushrooms are tender and tofu is heated through.

Stir in the white part of the scallions (reserve green tops for garnish). Simmer another 30 seconds.

Make slurry

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch (1 tsp) into the cold water (3 tbs) until fully dissolved to make a slurry.

Slowly pour the slurry into the simmering soup while stirring gently. Continue to simmer for 1 minute until the soup slightly thickens.

Add egg and finish

Reduce heat to low. Slowly drizzle the beaten egg (1/2 large) into the soup in a thin stream while stirring gently in one direction to form delicate egg ribbons. Turn off the heat. Stir in the sesame oil (1/2 tsp) and adjust seasoning if needed.

Ladle into a cup, garnish with reserved green scallion tops (1 tbsp) and chopped cilantro (1 tsp) if using, and serve immediately.