This recipe is easily one of my top five favorite soups. To make a perfect hot and sour soup, you must know the secret ingredients (drum roll): Tomato paste and doubanjiang 豆瓣醬! Tomato paste adds tartness to the soup, while doubanjiang, a Chinese spicy chili paste, infuses the soup with the heat you crave. Doubanjiang also helps deepen the taste of the hot and sour soup, so I highly recommend you use it. Otherwise, a good alternative would be sriracha.

What is doubanjiang 豆瓣醬?

Doubanjiang is a Chinese chili paste made with fermented broad beans and soybeans. It is thick, red, or brownish in color, savory, and spicy. The chili paste is typically sold in a glass jar. Doubanjiang is often used in mapo tofu, kung pao chicken, hot and sour soup, and spicy stirred fries. This umami-filled paste is a popular ingredient in Sichuan cuisine known for its bold and spicy flavor.

Print Recipe

Hot and Sour Soup

My Favorite Hot and Sour Soup

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: chinese soups, hot and sour soup

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp white pepper
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• ¾ cup sliced fresh shiitake mushrooms
• ½ cup sliced wood ear mushrooms
• ½ cup sliced bamboo shoots
• ½ cup sliced carrots
• ½ pack firm tofu cut into stripes
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp doubanjiang or sriracha
• 2½ tbsp cornstarch
• 1 egg beaten
• 2 tbsp black or rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 to 2 green onions thinly sliced

Instructions

• Heat the oil, add tomato paste and sugar, and cook for 30 seconds. Add white pepper and stir. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
• When the stock comes to a boil, add the shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots, tofu, soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Bring to a rapid simmer. Stir in the doubanjiang and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Combine the cornstarch and equal part water to make a cornstarch slurry. Stir in the cornstarch in the soup. Bubble for 2 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick, add water to thin it out. If the soup is not thick enough, add more cornstarch slurry to the soup.
• Gently stir in the beaten egg. Once the egg is set, add the vinegar, and stir. Taste and adjust the vinegar and spice level to taste. Stir in the toasted sesame oil and green onions; serve immediately.

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