Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup: Step by Step

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1. Soak the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes, then drain, reserving 200 ml of the soaking liquid and straining it through a fine sieve.

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2. Bring the stock and the strained mushroom liquid to a simmer with both soy sauces, the sugar and salt.

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3. Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots and tofu and simmer gently for 8 minutes.

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4. Stir in the cornflour slurry gradually while the soup simmers, until it thickens to a silky consistency that coats a spoon. Cook 2 minutes to remove any raw starch taste.

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5. Reduce to the barest simmer and stir the soup in a slow circle. Pour the beaten egg in a very thin stream and stop stirring for 10 seconds, letting fine ribbons set.

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6. Take the pan off the heat entirely, then stir in the black vinegar and white pepper. Adding them off the heat preserves their sharpness.

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7. Taste and adjust — it should be assertively sour and peppery.

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8. Finish with sesame oil, spring onions and a drizzle of chilli oil.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Things to Watch For

1. Grind the white pepper fresh. Pre-ground loses its distinctive heat within weeks.
2. Vinegar and pepper always go in off the heat; boiling them drives off exactly what you added them for.
3. Add shredded pork or chicken with the mushrooms for a heartier version.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.

A Little Background

The heat in this soup comes from white pepper, whose piperine gives a warming rather than burning sensation, and the sourness from Chinkiang vinegar added off the heat so its aromatics survive. Drizzling beaten egg in a thin stream while the soup moves slowly creates fine ribbons instead of lumps.

To Go With It

Jasmine tea · Serve as a starter before dumplings or noodles · Follow with a light main

Leftovers

Refrigerate 3 days. It thickens on standing — loosen with stock and refresh with a splash of vinegar when reheating.

Common Questions

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.

Vegetarian when made with vegetable stock rather than chicken stock.

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