Chinese cuisine

Easy

Hot and Sour Soup | Chef John’s Cooking Class

Name: Hot and Sour Soup | Chef John’s Cooking Class
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: Hot and sour sauce; 1/4 cup Sweet black rice vinegar; 1 tbsp. White pepper; 1 tsp. Sesame oil; 1 tbsp. Green onion, chopped; Soup; 1½ qt. Salted chicken stock; 1 oz. Dried black fungus slice, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.; 1 oz. Dried lily flower, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.; 1 oz. Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.; 1 oz. Fresh Beancurd stick; 8 oz. Soft tofu; 1/4 tsp. Salt; 1/2 tbsp. Light soy sauce; 1/2 tbsp. Dark soy sauce; 1/2 cup Potato starch slurry (1 to 2 ratio of cornstarch to water); 2 large Egg wash

Chef John Zhang

RATING LIKE SAVE PRINT

Hot and Sour Soup | Chef John’s Cooking Class

5 stars rating if you like it!

Done

We love this classic crowd favorite hot and sour soup. It’s actually quite simple yet refreshing and nutritious. Here, we use thinly sliced bean curd instead of meat. The rich earthiness of this soup is sure to please you.

Recipe

PRE TIME: 10 min

COOKING TIME: 25 min

TOTAL TIME: 35 min

4 SERVING

Ingredients:

Hot and sour sauce
1/4 cup Sweet black rice vinegar
1 tbsp. White pepper
1 tsp. Sesame oil
1 tbsp. Green onion, chopped
Soup
1½ qt. Salted chicken stock
1 oz. Dried black fungus slice, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.
1 oz. Dried lily flower, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.
1 oz. Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 3-4 hours.
1 oz. Fresh Beancurd stick
8 oz. Soft tofu
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 tbsp. Light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. Dark soy sauce
1/2 cup Potato starch slurry (1 to 2 ratio of cornstarch to water)
2 large Egg wash

Directions:

Step 1

Soak the dried Shiitake mushrooms, dried black fungus, and dried lily flowers in cold water in separate bowls for 3-4 hours.

Step 2

Cut softened Shiitake mushrooms and black fungus into thin strips, about the size of matchsticks. Remove the bottom parts of softened lily flowers.

Step 3

Cut the fresh tofu skin into thin strips. If you do not have fresh tofu skin, you can use dried beancurd sticks or dried tofu skins.

Step 4

Cut soft tofu into thin slices, then cut into strips, about matchstick size.

Step 5 - Hot and sour sauce

Add sweet black rice vinegar, white pepper powder, mix completely until no pepper lumps and add sesame oil and minced green onion in a large bowl.

Step 6

In a medium stock pan over medium heat, add salted chicken broth, and bring it to a boil. Add Shiitake mushroom, black fungus, lily flowers, beancurd skin, and tofu. Then add salt and soy sauce( mixture of light soy sauce and dark soy sauce in 1:1 proportion). As it boils again, add water and potato slurry. (Note: mixing the slurry thoroughly before adding to the pot)

Step 7

Slowly pour in egg wash in the end.

Step 8

Remove from the heat and pour it into the prepared hot and sour sauce. It's done.

Final Notes

The hotness comes from the white pepper, one can vary the amount of white pepper according to personal preference. Never replace white pepper with chili powder. There is a difference between them in hot flavor.