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    Home

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup Recipe

    Last Updated On: Oct 24, 2023 by Aarthi

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    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup Recipe, as the name suggest this soup has a spicy and tangy taste which makes it so addictive. Delicious peppery soup made with chicken, mixed vegetables, ginger, garlic cooked in a hot and sour broth. Comforting soup which nourishes the soul on a cold winter's day. Serve it with wontons, mandu, spring rolls or momos for making it more substantial meal.

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup served in a soup bowl

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

    When I was young, Every time we go to restaurants with family the only soup which I order is spicy hot & sour soup. And also fish fingers and chicken wings will be my Appetizer of choice. The combo is unbeatable. Making this soup at home reminds me of my childhood days. When I made this soup for the first time, I served it with crispy chicken croquettes and everyone enjoyed it.

    Table of Contents

    • About Hot and Sour Chicken Soup
    • Watch Chicken Soup Video
    • Hot and Sour Broth (Stock) Ingredients
    • Hot and Sour Chicken Soup Ingredients
    • How to Make Hot and Sour Chicken Soup (Stepwise Pictures)
    • Expert Tips
    • 📖 Recipe Card
    • Hot and Sour Chicken Soup | Chicken Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

    About Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

    Perfect amount of spiciness with sour taste makes this soup so popular. This soup is for all my spicy food lovers. Hot and sour soup is one of the popular soup in Sichuan cuisine. It is also equally popular in Southeast Asia, India & Pakistan. This soup is easily adaptable and modified according to each region.

    Vegetables and chicken cooked in a hot and sour broth which is thickened with cornstarch slurry and beaten egg. Traditionally this soup is made with variety of mushrooms like wood ear mushrooms or cloud ear fungus. But button mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms is the most common variety used in the soup. Hot and sour soup taste spicy while my chicken clear soup is more on the milder side.

    Watch Chicken Soup Video

    YouTube video
    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup served in yellow casserole

    The soup starts with a soup broth. The broth or stock forms the base of the soup. I like to add all my flavourings and sauces in the broth and create a base which is hot and sour.

    Once the broth is ready you can start making the soup. In a stock pot or soup pot, flavourings like ginger, garlic and spring onions is sauted first. Mixed vegetables is added and then the broth. I add beaten egg and chicken in this soup. But if you wish you could make it entirely vegetarian by skipping the chicken and egg. Instead use extra tofu and mushrooms.

    More Popular Soups to Try,

    Cream of Chicken Soup

    Meatball Soup

    Chicken Noodles Soup

    Spicy Chicken Soup

    Hot and Sour Broth (Stock) Ingredients

    Ingredients for making Hot and Sour Broth (Stock)

    Stock of Choice - I used chicken stock, I mixed 2 tbsp of chicken bouillon with 1 litre of water to make my instant stock. Optionally you can make my homemade chicken stock or easy version of chicken broth which I made in my chicken clear soup recipe. If you are making vegetarian or vegan soup, then use vegetable stock.

    Soy Sauce - this adds colour to the soup and adds the umami note.

    Vinegar - the sour taste for the soup comes from vinegar. You can use rice vinegar which is more traditional or white vinegar which is more commonly used.

    Chilli Garlic Paste - I prefer using chilli garlic paste instead of chilli sauce. choose any good brand of chilli paste sambal oelek or homemade chilli garlic paste.

    Seasonings - as basic as salt, black pepper & sugar!

    hot and sour broth ready to be used in soup

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup Ingredients

    Ingredients for making Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

    Aromatics - basic aromatics ginger, garlic, spring onions form the base for all Chinese or Sichuan Cuisine.

    Vegetables - make sure your vegetables are chopped pretty fine. carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, mushrooms is what I used. You can add bamboo shoots, baby corn.

    Protein of Choice - cooked shredded chicken, tofu is popular choice in this soup.

    Toasted Sesame Oil - adds toasty and nutty flavour to the soup. If you don't have sesame oil, you can opt for regular cooking oil.

    Eggs - this thickens the soup and adds velvety texture to the soup.

    Cornstarch - for silky glossy restaurant style soup, a simple cornstarch slurry is added.

    two servings of hot and sour chicken soup

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup in 3 Easy Steps

    Making Broth - Make sure you get the hot and sour taste balance perfectly by tasting and adjusting the broth.

    Base of Soup - use the Holy Trinity of Spring Onion, Garlic & Ginger which forms the base aromatics.

    Finishing Soup - thicken the soup with egg and cornstarch slurry to create restaurant style soup.

    two servings of chicken hot and sour soup served in a soup bowl

    How to Make Hot and Sour Chicken Soup (Stepwise Pictures)

    Making Hot and Sour Soup Stock

    1) Take chicken stock in a bowl. I used chicken stock powder (chicken bouillon) mixed with some water. Add in soy sauce into the chicken stock.

    mix soy sauce with chicken stock

    2)Now for the spicy and sour part. Add in chilli garlic sauce and vinegar to taste.

    add chilli garlic paste and vinegar

    3)Add in sugar to balance the taste. Add in salt and black pepper and mix this well.

    add sugar, salt, black pepper to the stock

    4)Hot and sour stock is ready. Taste and adjust the chilli sauce, vinegar and salt level in the stock.

    chicken hot and sour stock ready to be used in soup

    Making Hot and Sour Soup

    5)Heat oil in a stock pot. If you have sesame oil, add toasted sesame oil for maximum flavour.

    heat sesame oil in a stock pot

    6)Add in chopped spring onion white part alone, chopped garlic and ginger. Saute for 1 minute.

    add holy trinity of flavours ginger, garlic and green onions

    7)Add in finely carrot, cabbage, capsicum and mushrooms.

    add carrots, capsicum, cabbage and mushrooms

    8)Saute for couple of minutes.

    cook vegetables for couple of minutes

    9)Pour in hot and sour stock. Mix well. Bring this to a full boil.

    pour the hot and sour broth and bring it to a boil

    10)Add in cooked shredded chicken, chopped tofu. Let the chicken and tofu heat through.

    add cooked shredded chicken and cubed tofu and heat well

    Finishing Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

    11) For thickening the soup, make cornstarch slurry. Take cornstarch in a mixing bowl, add in water and mix till lump free. Pour this cornstarch mix into the soup and mix well.

    mix cornstarch with water to form a slurry, pour the slurry into the soup and mix

    12)Bring this soup to a full boil. Now the soup is thickened and glossy.

    soup thickened with the cornstarch slurry

    13) Take egg in a bowl, mix well till creamy. Now reduce the flame, drizzle in the egg slowly and gently mix.

    drizzle in egg little at a time

    14)Once egg is mixed into the soup mix it very gently. Now egg is cooked and formed into ribbons.

    gently mix to form egg ribbons

    15)Add in finely chopped spring onions greens. Add extra sesame oil to finish the soup.

    add chopped spring onions into the soup

    16)Soup is ready to serve.

    hot and sour soup ready to serve

    17) Serve hot.

    two servings of hot and sour chicken soup

    Expert Tips

    • I used cooked chicken breast which I chopped into small pieces. You can use a rotisserie chicken as well. Any leftover chicken meat can be used. 
    • You can use any vegetables as you prefer. Add more or less as you like. Baby corn, bamboo shoots can be used.
    • This soup taste has to be tangy and spicy, so taste the broth and adjust accordingly.
    • To get restaurant style taste, add MSG | ajinomoto for taste.
    • I used 2 beaten eggs in the soup which resulted in thick soup. If you want slightly thinner consistency, add 1 beaten egg. 
    • Toasted sesame oil enhances the flavour, if you don't have that use regular oil.

    Serving

    Chicken hot and sour soup can be served with wontons, spring rolls or momos for lighter rainy day lunch or dinner. You can serve it with main dishes to make it into a substantial satisfying meal.

    • Sesame Chicken Noodles
    • Chicken noodles
    • Veg, Egg or Chicken fried rice
    • Nasi Goreng
    • Veg Noodles

    More Soups to Try

    • Thai Curry Udon Recipe
    • Mutton Rasam Recipe
    • Instant Rasam Recipe
    • Momos Soup Recipe (Soup for momos)
    • Hot and Sour Dumpling Soup Recipe
    • Thai Dumpling Soup Recipe

    📖 Recipe Card

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup | Chicken Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

    Hot and Sour Chicken Soup Recipe, as the name suggest this soup has a spicy and tangy taste which makes it so addictive. Delicious peppery soup made with chicken, mixed vegetables, ginger, garlic cooked in a hot and sour broth. Comforting soup which nourishes the soup on a cold winter's day.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 175kcal

    Equipment

    • Cooking pot

    Ingredients

    For Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

    • 1 tbsp Toasted Sesame Oil
    • 1 tbsp Ginger peeled & minced
    • 2 tbsp Garlic peeled & minced
    • 2 Spring Onion (white part) chopped finely
    • ¼ cup Carrot chopped finely
    • ¼ cup Cabbage chopped finely
    • ¼ cup Capsicum | Bell pepper chopped finely
    • ¼ cup Mushrooms chopped finely
    • 1 cup Chicken cooked & shredded
    • ½ cup Tofu chopped (optional)
    • 2 tbsp Cornstarch
    • 1 large Egg
    • 2 Spring Onion (green part) chopped finely
    • 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil optional

    For Hot and Sour Broth

    • 1 litre Chicken Stock
    • 2 tbsp Soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp Vinegar
    • 2 tbsp Chilli Garlic Paste
    • 2 tsp Sugar
    • Salt to taste
    • Black Pepper to taste

    Instructions

    • Start by making the broth. Take all ingredients given for the broth in a bowl. Mix well. Taste and adjust vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and chilli paste to your taste. Set aside till use.
    • Before making the soup. Mix cornstarch with water to form a slurry. Set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs till mixed. Set this aside till use.
    • Now let's make the soup. Heat oil in a stock pot or casserole. Add in ginger, garlic and spring onion whites. Saute for 1 minute till fragrant.
    • Add in vegetables. I used carrots, capsicum, cabbage, mushrooms. Stir fry the vegetables with ginger and garlic for 1 more minute.
    • Pour the mixed hot and sour broth over the veggies and bring it to a full boil.
    • Once the broth reaches a boil. Add in shredded cooked chicken and tofu cubes. Simmer the flame and let it warm through for couple of minutes in the broth.
    • Now add in the cornstarch slurry and mix gently. The soup will thicken immediately.
    • Reduce the flame to low. Drizzle in the beaten egg little at a time and gently mix. The eggs will form a ribbon like texture.
    • Now turn off the flame, add in spring onion greens and drizzle with some toasted sesame oil. Serve hot.

    Video

    YouTube video

    Notes

    • I used cooked chicken breast which I chopped into small pieces. You can use a rotisserie chicken as well. Any leftover chicken meat can be used. 
    • You can use any vegetables as you prefer. Add more or less as you like. Baby corn, bamboo shoots can be used.
    • This soup taste has to be tangy and spicy, so taste the broth and adjust accordingly.
    • To get restaurant style taste, add MSG | ajinomoto for taste.
    • I used 2 beaten eggs in the soup which resulted in thick soup. If you want slightly thinner consistency, add 1 beaten egg. 
    • Toasted sesame oil enhances the flavour, if you don't have that use regular oil.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servings | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 881mg | Potassium: 302mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1060IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @yummytummyaarthi or tag #yummytummyaarthi!
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    More Chinese Recipes to Try

    • Chilli Soya Recipe
    • Vegetable Spring Rolls Recipe
    • Clay Pot Chicken Rice Recipe
    • Gobi Manchurian Recipe
    • Schezwan Chicken Recipe
    • Stir Fry Chicken & Vegetables

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    Chicken Pizza Recipe »
    Aarthi

    About Aarthi

    Over the past few years I’ve been on a mission to find and create recipes that I can make from scratch. I hope you enjoy the recipes on this blog as they are tried and true from my kitchen to yours!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Irene

      at

      My favorite soup. You made it look so simple and delicious. Will definitely try this recipe 🙂

      Reply
    2. Suja

      at

      Filling and delicious soup..yummy

      Reply
    3. Carolina

      at

      A fantastic soup for cold days.
      Kisses

      Reply
    4. Ann from Sumptuous Spoonfuls

      at

      Oh I love hot and sour soup ... I order it every time I go to a Chinese restaurant, but I've never tried to make it! Thank you for the step by step instructions to make it 🙂

      Reply
    5. Kristy Lynn

      at

      aarthi! this looks delish! I am planning something similar for tonight - weird huh?

      thanks for stopping by 🙂 Hope to see more of you!

      XO

      Kristy

      Reply
    6. soujanya

      at

      Chicken soup looks mouthwatery!!!
      perfect!!!!

      Reply
    7. Catherine

      at

      Dear Aarthi, I followed along every step of the way in your directions. I would just love this soup. It something I would just adore. Blessings, Catherine xo

      Reply
    8. Yuvana's Favourites

      at

      WOW. Comfort food. i love it. bookmarked

      Reply
    9. Sumee

      at

      other than ohhh and ahhhs nothing is coming out of me.!!!! YUMMY.!!! and love your pics.

      Reply
    10. S.Menaga

      at

      super,one of my fav soup!!

      Reply
    11. MyKitchen Flavors-BonAppetit!.

      at

      Mouthwatering and a warming soup.Luv it.

      Reply
    12. Chitra

      at

      perfect soothing soup for a rainy day

      Reply
    13. Dzoli

      at

      Thank you for this recipe.I sure would like to try next time I make chicken soup:)

      Reply
    14. Holly

      at

      This soup sounds yummy!

      Reply
    15. Neha

      at

      Nice recipe...Very well explained...

      Reply
    16. Jasna's kitchen creations

      at

      I love hot & sour soup. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    17. sangee vijay

      at

      Mmmm...really a hot n sour soup...wonderful recipe !!

      Reply
    18. Rekha shoban

      at

      this is really very different type of chicken soup!!looks yummy!

      Reply
    19. Poornima Nair

      at

      My favorite kind of soup!

      Reply
    20. Julie

      at

      I love hot and sour soup~ this looks delicious.

      Reply
    21. Tina

      at

      Refreshing and perfect soup..

      Reply
    22. Ann

      at

      This sounds delicious! I always wondered what was in hot and sour soup! Now I will be happy to order it when we're out at an appropriate restaurant - AND I can make it!

      Reply
    23. Nags

      at

      your step by step pics are killing me! 🙂

      Reply
    24. Priya

      at

      Wat a droolworthy and tempting soup, fabulous soup for chilled weather..

      Reply
    25. hemalata

      at

      perfect soup,sounds so delicious.

      Reply
    26. ente pachakasala

      at

      delicious chicken soup thanks for ur comments in my blog

      Reply
    27. Balakrishna Saraswathy

      at

      that bowl of hot and sour chicken soup is wht I crave for the cozy evenings in CBE Aarti..send me a bowl:D

      Reply
    28. Anonymous

      at

      What's chilli paste ? And it looks awesome can't wait to try it !

      Reply
    29. Aarthi

      at

      @AnonymousIt is just ground dry chilli with some water or vinegar. Will share that recipe soon.

      Reply
    30. Anonymous

      at

      Its poach ,not pouch..

      Reply
    31. Aarthi

      at

      @Anonymousthank you...edited

      Reply
    32. Anonymous

      at

      Can u please tell me what is red chilli paste

      Reply
    33. Aarthi

      at

      @AnonymousIt is dry red chillies which is soaked in hot water and ground to a paste

      Reply
    34. Anu S

      at

      Nice. Can u pls update veg. Hot n sour soup

      Reply
    35. Rajesh Kumar

      at

      Brilliant photographs! wow....lovely n delicious .it tastes yummy too!
      kati roll online order

      Reply
    36. Purnima Selvamurugan

      at

      I tried this couple of week back, it came perfect.. all your recipes are good, your pictorial in all recipes is the highligh. Pictures makes me Clear.. Thanks a lot.

      Reply
    37. Anonymous

      at

      Hi aarthi, i made this soup in a big pot with 1.5 kg chicken. Got a bit generous with the sauces snd i thought i addded too much vinegar. But my husband totally loved it. Thank you so much for all your recipes. I only recently stumbled into your website and i should admit that i m addicted to it. Every day i visit it and for almost every dish that i make now, i refer your recipe. your simplified steps and pictures inspire me to cook more. God bless you!
      Jay

      Reply
    38. Selena Gomez

      at

      wow yummy recipe ...too good to see...
      order online food delhi

      Reply
    39. shiney rosario

      at

      Hi Aarthi....can you plz post the recipe for red chilli paste wch u have used in this soup...TIA

      Reply
    40. Aarthi

      at

      @shiney rosariohere is the link
      https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2015/06/homemade-chilli-garlic-paste-recipe-how.html

      Reply
    41. [email protected]

      at

      Hi, tried it for the second time today. It has become family favourite. Thank u

      Reply
    42. Tanisha Singh

      at

      This blog is looking repository of food and found here every kind of food. it looks beautiful and superb in taste.share more recipe with better information resturent menu order

      Reply
    43. Ain Riz

      at

      Awesome, love your blog it is so easy and helpful. Thank you for sharing such good recipes and making cooking fun.

      Reply
    44. Unknown

      at

      Tried this. Soup was just awesome. Thank u.

      Reply
    45. Sandhya

      at

      Aarthi, how much stock do you add?

      Reply
    46. Pippa

      at

      5 stars
      This turned out exactly like the one in the restaurant! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. It was very easy to follow.

      Reply
    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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    Hi, I'm Aarthi!

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