Recreate a classic Chinese takeaway menu item with this delicious restaurant style hot & sour soup recipe.
With crispy chicken wings, sticky ribs and aromatic duck on offer, Chinese takeaway soup options are easy to overlook. But, they are a delicious way to add to a feast, and in the case of this hot & sour soup, very easy to make too. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients For Hot & Sour Soup
This easy Chinese hot & sour soup recipe uses dried black fungus and shiitake mushroom. These are store cupboard ingredients that store well. The hot & sour soup broth is made up of hot bean sauce with garlic, ginger, chicken stock and various savoury and sweet seasonings.
The familiar sour note in this soup comes from Chinese black vinegar. This is a delicious condiment that works beautifully in soups and stir-fry sauces.
Meat & Vegetables: Cooked Char Siu Pork, Chicken & King Prawn, Shitake Mushroom, Dried Black Fungus, Bamboo Shoots, Carrot, Spring Onion.
Soup Base: Light Chicken Stock, Garlic & Ginger Paste, Sea Salt, MSG, Sugar, Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, Hot Bean Sauce.
Other Ingredients: White Pepper, Black Vinegar, Potato Starch, Water, Egg, Sesame Oil.
How To Make Hot & Sour Soup
Chinese takeaway style hot & sour soup is easy to make. First, the dried shitake mushroom and dried fungus are soaked in hot water. Then, the soup ingredients are combined and simmered with cooked meats and vegetables. The soup is thickened slightly and the sour note is added with Chinese black vinegar, before the soup is finished with classic egg drop ribbons.
Step 1: Prepare Meat & Vegetables
Put the shitake mushroom and dried fungus strips in a bowl, cover with warm (not boiling) water and set aside for 20-30 minutes. Rinse & drain, finely slice & set aside with the cooked meats, sliced bamboo shoots and sliced carrot.
Step 2: Prepare Soup Base
Heat a wok or soup pot over a medium heat. Add the garlic & ginger paste and warm through for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, salt, MSG, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce & hot bean sauce and mix well.
Step 3: Cook Hot & Sour Soup
Add the sliced meat and vegetables to the simmering soup. Bring to the boil & simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the white pepper & black vinegar and mix well.
Step 4: Finish & Serve Hot & Sour Soup
Add the potato starch and water mix, stirring well until the soup is slightly thickened (you won’t need all of the mix). Whisk the egg thoroughly, then drop it slowly into the simmering soup. Let the egg sit for a few seconds, then stir gently to create ribbons throughout the soup. Add the spring onion, ladle the hot & sour soup into bowls and serve.
Chinese Takeaway Style Hot & Sour Soup Recipe Tips
Make Ahead: This recipe uses cooked char siu pork / chicken / king prawns – if you plan to make your soup ahead of time, prepare the soup base and leave out the cooked meat and seafood until it’s time to reheat.
I hope you’ll try this Chinese takeaway style hot & sour soup recipe. If you do, let me know in the comments how it went!
Hot & Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pinch dried black fungus
- 1 dried shitake mushroom
- 1 handful cooked char siu pork, cooked chicken, cooked prawns sliced
- 1 small handful bamboo shoots sliced
- 1/2 small carrot sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic & ginger paste
- 400 ml light chicken stock
- Pinch salt
- Pinch msg optional
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- Dash dark soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons hot bean sauce Yeo's brand
- Pinch white pepper
- 2 teaspoons black vinegar
- 2 teaspoons potato starch
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 egg
- 1 spring onion sliced
Instructions
- Put the shitake mushroom and dried fungus strips in a bowl, cover with warm (not boiling) water and set aside for 20-30 minutes. Rinse & drain, finely slice & set aside. Slice the cooked meat, bamboo shoots and carrot into thin strips.
- Heat a wok or soup pot over a medium heat. Add the garlic & ginger paste and warm through for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, salt, msg, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce & hot bean sauce and mix well.
- Add the sliced meat and vegetables to the simmering soup. Bring to the boil & simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the white pepper & black vinegar and mix well.
- Add the potato starch and water mix, stirring well until the soup is slightly thickened (you won't need all of the mix). Whisk the egg thoroughly, then drop it slowly into the simmering soup. Let the egg sit for a few seconds, then stir gently to create ribbons throughout the soup. Add the spring onion, ladle the hot & sour soup into bowls and serve.
Chinese Takeaway Style Hot & Sour Soup Recipe FAQ
What is MSG and why should I use it?
MSG is monosodium glutamate, a seasoning ingredient widely used in Chinese takeaway kitchens, in pure form or as an ingredient in soy sauces and other seasoning sauces. In hot & sour soup it helps bring the spicy and salty ingredients ingredients together to create a delicious soup broth. Despite historic baseless claims of dangers of MSG, it has been widely proven to be considered safe for use in cooking. In fact, many of the myths and lies about its safety were deliberately and maliciously spread as a form of racism. You can find MSG naturally in many foodstuffs including broccoli, cheese and tomatoes. It’s available online or in Chinese supermarkets. You can learn more about MSG from the brilliant Chin Taylor of Ziang’s Kitchen here.
What is Chinese black vinegar?
Known as ‘Chinkiang’ vinegar, Chinese black vinegar is tangy and a little sweet. It’s often used in gyoza dipping sauce and can be used to add depth of flavour to soups, stews and stir-fry dishes.
Do you like this Chinese takeaway style hot & sour soup recipe? If so, buying a copy of my book might appeal to you! In The Chinese Takeaway Secret you can find a host of restaurant and takeaway style recipes that you can make at home. You’ll learn how to make crispy won ton, sesame prawn toast, char siu pork, chicken fried rice and more! You can buy The Chinese Takeaway Secret in paperback or kindle form here.
- McGovern, Kenny (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 240 Pages – 06/09/2022 (Publication Date) – Robinson (Publisher)
Looks ace. Went to buy book but paperback sold out and no date for a restock, thanks again for the recipe.