Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe | Hot n Sour Soup | Hot Sour Soup with detailed photo and video recipe. An easy and simple soup recipe known for its spicy and sour taste. It is a fast-food or street-food recipe served as an appetiser or starter just before an Indo-Chinese or North Indian meal. Generally, it is made with diced vegetables, Indo-Chinese sauces, and a fried noodles topping, but it can also be made with a choice of meat.

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe | Hot n Sour Soup | Hot Sour Soup with step-by-step photo and video recipe. Indo-Chinese cuisine is known for its spicy, flavourful dishes that cater to Indian taste buds. It is a mixture of full flavours, with bitterness, spice, sourness, and savouriness. It offers the same taste across its soup variations.

I am not a huge fan of full-course meals in Indo-Chinese cuisine. I typically avoid it and prefer North Indian or South Indian food. Yet whenever we plan for outdoor dining, it always begins with Indo-Chinese starters or a soup as an appetiser. My personal favourite, to begin with, is a tomato soup recipe or a hot and sour soup recipe. The best part of this soup is its sourness, which activates the taste buds. Most soups offer you either spice or savoury flavour. But in hot and sour soup, the combination of spice and sourness makes it an ideal starter.

Furthermore, before wrapping up the recipe, here are some tips, suggestions, and variations for hot and sour soup. Firstly, the consistency is key for this recipe. The consistency should be thicker than water but not too thick. Hence, be careful with your addition of cornstarch. Secondly, the recipe should be served warm, and it will not taste good when left to rest. Hence, plan your soup accordingly, and ideally serve it just before the meal. Lastly, when adding veggies to it, ensure you either slice them thinly or dice them into small pieces. This is because we do not boil or cook the vegetables; we just sauté them at high temperature.

Finally, I request that you check my other Soup Recipe Collection with this post on hot and sour soup. It mainly includes recipe variations such as vegetable soup, lemon coriander soup, bonda soup, sweet corn soup, beetroot soup, lemon rasam, punarpuli saaru, carrot soup, pumpkin soup, and palak soup. Further to these, I would also like to highlight my other similar recipe variations like,

About Hot and Sour Soup

Classical Hot and Sour Soup brings bold Indo-Chinese flavours into a warm and comforting bowl. The vegetable soup is a perfect option for any meal. Every bowl contains fresh vegetables that deliver colour, texture, and nutritional value. The soup reaches its distinctive hotness level through the combination of chilli sauce and pepper. Vinegar provides the dish with a strong and clean sour flavour. The dish combines two distinct flavours, which include spiciness and sourness, to create an enjoyable culinary experience. The dish derives its common name from the term “Hot and Sour Soup”. A light corn flour slurry gives the soup a smooth and slightly thick consistency. The dish gets a fresh taste from the addition of spring onion and coriander before final presentation.

The soup serves as an appetiser which people traditionally serve before their main meal. The dish contains spicy and tangy flavours that help increase diners’ appetites. The dish serves as a starter that restaurants and street vendors serve before their customers order Indo-Chinese dishes. The main courses which customers can choose from include vegetable fried rice, hakka noodles, and Manchurian. Making soup at home is easy because you can use a variety of vegetables. The recipe works well with carrot, cabbage, beans, capsicum, corn and mushrooms as its main ingredients. The use of vegetable stock provides both additional flavour and nutritional value to the dish. Cooks use tofu, paneer, and various meats to create extended versions of the basic recipe. These additions transform the soup into a complete meal which provides high protein content.

Fun Fact:

Hot and Sour Soup has several regional versions across Asian cuisines. Each region adjusts the spice, sourness and ingredients according to local tastes.

Chef Tips for Hot and Sour Soup

Classical Hot and Sour Soup is a comforting Indo-Chinese appetiser packed with colourful vegetables and bold flavours. Its perfect balance of spicy and tangy taste makes every spoonful warm, satisfying and refreshing.

1. Flavour: Sauté ginger, garlic, and chilli until aromatic, then add the vegetables. This creates a rich base that gives the soup its signature street-style taste.
2. Vegetables: Cook the vegetables only for a couple of minutes over high heat. They retain their colour, texture and natural sweetness in the soup.
3. Seasoning: Adjust the soy sauce, chilli sauce, vinegar and pepper before thickening the soup. This helps you achieve the perfect hot-and-sour flavour in every bowl.
4. Consistency: Thoroughly mix corn flour with cold water before adding it to the soup. Stir continuously while pouring the slurry to achieve a smooth, glossy consistency.
5. Toppings: Add spring onion and coriander at the very end of cooking. Fresh herbs enhance the aroma and give the soup a vibrant restaurant-style finish.

FAQs

1. Which vegetables work well in Hot and Sour Soup?
   Carrot, cabbage, beans, capsicum, sweet corn and mushrooms work well in this soup. Chop every vegetable finely so it cooks evenly and blends into each spoonful.
2. How do I make Hot and Sour Soup taste spicy and tangy?
   Add chilli sauce, black pepper and fresh chilli to create the spicy flavour. Use vinegar gradually and taste the soup before adding more.
3. How do I thicken Hot and Sour Soup properly?
   Mix corn flour with cold water until the slurry turns smooth. Pour it slowly into the boiling soup while stirring continuously.
4. Can I prepare Hot and Sour Soup without mushrooms?
   You can skip mushrooms and add vegetables such as corn, beans or capsicum. The remaining vegetables will still give the soup plenty of flavour and texture.
5. Can I use vegetable stock instead of water?
   Vegetable stock adds a rich flavour and extra nourishment to the soup. Adjust the salt carefully, as packaged stock may already be seasoned.

Video Recipe

Recipe Card for Hot and Sour Soup

How to Make Hot and Sour Soup with Step-by-step Photos

1. Firstly, wash all the vegetables thoroughly and finely chop them. Finely chopped vegetables cook quickly and give the soup a restaurant-style texture.
   
2. To prepare the corn flour slurry, in a small bowl, take corn flour and water.
   
3. Mix well until the corn flour dissolves completely and forms a smooth, lump-free slurry. Keep it aside.
   
4. Heat oil in a large kadai. Add finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilli, and onion. Sauté on a high flame until the onion softens slightly and the ginger and garlic turn aromatic. Do not brown the onion.
   
5. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and sauté well. Cook until the mushrooms release their moisture and shrink slightly. Adding mushrooms is optional.
   
6. Now add carrot, cabbage, beans, sweet corn, and capsicum.
   
7. Add salt and stir-fry the vegetables over high heat for about 2 minutes. Do not overcook the vegetables. They should retain a light crunch for the best texture.
   
8. Pour in 5 cups of water and mix well. For a richer flavour and added nutrition, you can replace the water with vegetable stock.
   
9. Add chilli sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, and black pepper powder. Mix everything well and taste the soup. Adjust the chilli sauce, vinegar, salt, and pepper to taste.
   
10. Mix the prepared corn flour slurry once again, as the corn flour may settle at the bottom. Slowly pour the slurry into the soup while stirring continuously. Continue stirring to prevent lumps from forming.
    
11. Bring the soup to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes, or until it thickens slightly. Do not make the soup too thick, as it will continue to thicken slightly after cooling.
    
12. Finally, add finely chopped coriander and spring onion greens. Mix well and turn off the flame.
    
13. Serve the Hot and Sour Soup immediately while it is hot.
    

Notes

• Finely chop all the vegetables to ensure they cook evenly and give the soup a smooth restaurant-style texture.
• Use vegetable stock instead of water for a richer flavour and added nutrition.
• Always mix the corn flour slurry before adding it, as the corn flour tends to settle at the bottom.
• Soy sauce contains salt, so add additional salt carefully.