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Caleb’s favorite soup has always been hot and sour soup. It’s how he judges a Chinese restaurant and over the years he’s developed quite a specific opinion on the proper balance of heat, vinegar, meat, tofu, egg strands, and other various mix-ins.
When Caleb’s parents were here last winter, his dad and I spent some time digging through a giant file of pinned hot and sour soup recipes, hunting for the best candidate to try. A few were a little too Americanized, a few seemed overly complicated; this pick from the Science of Good Cooking rose to the top of the pile.
The most time-consuming part of this recipe is the prep work, a common theme that runs across many Chinese recipes. You'll want to get all of the prep work done before starting to cook anything (you can bring the broth to a simmer while you're prepping), because once you start cooking, it goes really fast and you don't want to still be cutting something you need 5 minutes ago. The pork, tofu, bamboo, and mushrooms are all sliced very thinly; this is not a soup you should leave to cook overly long, as the pork will eventually toughen if simmered too long.
Slicing the pork into even strips and tossing it with cornstarch, soy sauce, and sesame oil is key to locking the moisture into the lean pork as it cooks; the soy and sesame impart flavor while the cornstarch helps seal the meat and prevent it from toughening up as the soup cooks.
Hot and sour soup is well-know for its glistening broth, thickened slightly with cornstarch. A little like egg drop soup, hot and sour soup delivers major sour tangy flavor via the Chinkiang (black) vinegar that is added to the soup. It can be difficult to source black vinegar, but it's well worth the trouble, because the flavor makes this soup. After making this soup several times, we've increased the amount of spices (soy sauce, black vinegar, chili oil, and white pepper). Upon serving, both Caleb and I customize our final bowl with slightly more of these mix-ins depending on our preferences.
Recipe modified slightly from the Science of Good Cooking
Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce divided
- 3⅔ tablespoons cornstarch divided
- 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 8 ounces trimmed pork chop
- 7 ounces extra-firm tofu
- 4 ounce shiitake mushroom
- 5 ounces bamboo shoots
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cold water divided
- 1 large egg
- 10 tablespoons Chinkiang (black) vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- 2 cups Swanson's beef broth
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
- Whisk together 1½ tablespoons soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1½ teaspoons of cornstarch in a large metal bowl. Trim the boneless pork chop into 1" by ⅛" matchsticks. Add the pork slices to the bowl, toss to coat, and let marinate for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Remove the tofu from its package and drain any liquid. Cut the block horizontally through the midsection to produce 2 thinner blocks. Place blocks onto a paper-towel lined pie plate, top with another layer of paper towels, followed by a heavy plate. Let tofu drain until at least ~½ cup liquid has been released (about 15 minutes).
- Meanwhile, place the broth in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat and let it come to a boil while you prepare the remaining ingredients. (Turn down to a simmer if it reaches a boil and you are still prepping.)
- Clean the shiitake mushrooms, remove their stems, and slice caps ¼" thick. Drain the bamboo shoots from their can, and slice lengthwise into ⅛" thick strips.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of the remaining cornstarch with 3 tablespoons lukewarm water.
- In another small bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water using a fork, then add the egg and beat with the fork until combined.
- In a third medium-small bowl, stir together the black vinegar, remaining 6 tablespoons soy sauce, chili oil, and white pepper.
- Slice 3 scallions thinly on the bias. Set aside on a small plate.
- Once the broth has come to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the bamboo shoots and the mushrooms, simmering until the mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes.
- While the broth simmers, cut the tofu into ½" cubes. Add the marinated pork (including the marinade) and the cubed tofu to the pot, stirring to separate any stuck-together pieces of pork. Continue simmering until the pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
- Whisk the cornstarch-water mix back together if it has separated, then add to the soup and turn the heat back up to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the soup becomes translucent in color, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar-soy-chili oil-pepper mix, then turn off the heat.
- Hold a thin-slotted soup spoon over the soup and slowly drizzle the egg mixture through the slotted spoon into the pot, slowly moving the slotted spoon clockwise over the surface of the soup to create very thin streams of egg. Let the soup sit for 1 more minute, then turn on the heat up to medium-high. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then immediately remove from the heat. Gently stir the soup once (this should be the first time you've stirred since you added the vinegar-pepper mix), then ladly the soup into bowls, garnish with the bias-cut scallions, and serve.
