BITTER SPICY SOUP

BITTER SPICY SOUP

This restaurant style sweet and sour soup recipe is the best! It’s quick and easy to prepare, easy to adapt to personal taste preferences, and very tasty.

I can’t stop, I won’t stop soup recipes this winter. ♡

And today’s recipe is one that I’ve been wanting to share with you on the blog for years, after literally dozens of you asking for it.(This often comes up when I talk about my favorite egg soup recipe. Apparently many of you often opt for sweet and sour soup at your favorite Chinese restaurants and wanted to learn how to make it.)

Well, good news, Friends! The traditional sweet and sour soup is also incredibly easy to prepare. And the advantage of making it at home is that it’s also incredibly easy to customize to your liking. Do you like the heat a lot?Add more chili garlic sauce. Do you like it more bitter? Add more rice wine vinegar. Do you like vegetarians? Make it with tofu.Do you like the meat version? Just add some pork.

Believe me, this is one of those restaurant recipes that tastes just as good at home. And on cold winter weeks like this one here in Kansas City, it’s guaranteed to warm you up in the tastiest way possible.

INGREDIENTS

8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms (or baby bella mushrooms), thinly sliced, stems removed
1 can (8 ounces) bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
1/4 cup rice vinegar or more to taste
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
8 ounces firm tofu*, cut into 1/2 pieces inch cubes
4 green onions, thinly sliced ​​
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and white pepper (or black pepper).

INSTRUCTIONS

Reserve ¼ cup chicken or vegetable broth for later use.
Add the remaining 7 ¾ cups chicken or vegetable broth, mushrooms, bamboo shoots (if using), rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and chili-garlic sauce to a large pot and stir. Heat over medium-high heat until soup simmers.
While the soup is heating, stir together ¼ cup stock (that you reserved) and cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth. Once the soup is simmering, add the cornstarch mixture and stir until the soup thickens, about 1 minute.Continue stirring the soup in a circular motion and then drizzle in the eggs in a thin stream (while stirring the soup constantly) to form egg ribbons. Add the tofu, half of the green onions and the sesame oil. Then season the soup with salt and a pinch* of white pepper (or black pepper). If you would like a slightly more acidic soup, feel free to add an additional tablespoon or two of rice wine vinegar. Or if you want a spicier soup, add more chili garlic sauce.Serve immediately, garnished with the additional green onions.