Hot & Sour Soup … for the SOUL.
Posted by Michelle on September 14, 2009
Why is it that only chicken soup is for your soul? I mean, this hot and sour soup is ten times better than any chicken soup I’ve had in recent memory. It’s got a great heat and tang to it, and it’s so warm and comforting. Plus, I made it when I was sick [I hate you, New England weather] two weeks ago and it cleared my sinuses like whoa.
Only a picture of the finished product, because I swear, there’s only so many diced/sliced/chopped vegetable pictures I can show you before I start feeling silly. Plus, as it turns out, bamboo shoots don’t photograph that well.
I only discovered my love of hot and sour about five or six years ago, when the husband took me to The Island Hopper when we were first dating and I was in the city visiting him. It was so good – velvety in a way that chicken noodle soup only wishes it was, ten thousand times more flavorful, and again with the sinus clearing. [Sorry, but it's true!]
The soup is also ridiculously easy to make and can easily be made on the stove top or in a slow cooker. The first time I made it was in the slow cooker, but last time was just a quick 45 minutes on the stove top.
Also, this is in no way a traditional hot and sour soup; it, like everything else I make, is a bastardized version of the original. The recipe has most of the traditional components, but isn’t quite the same.
Hot & Sour Soup:
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound of chicken, poached, then shredded
1/2 package of button mushrooms, sliced
1 small can bamboo shoots, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes to reduce bitterness, then cut into thin strips
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 – 2 teaspoons chili paste
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Everything goes into the pot at once and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. I wish I had complicated instructions, but I got nothin’. Now, the first time I made this soup, I used 1 teaspoon chili paste, and I thought it could have used more heat. With 2 teaspoons, the heat was nearly all you got when you first tasted the soup, so maybe start with 1.5 and go from there; for me, the 2 teaspoons was perfect, but the husband thought it was too hot and had to add more vinegar to his to balance it out. The fish sauce really adds a nice depth of flavor, plus it got it closer to the color I’m used to seeing in restaurant hot and sour soup.
theprettyproject said
Agreed! Hot and Sour soup is A-MAZING!
http://www.theprettyproject.com
Michelle said
So yummy!
I’m also now fascinated by your blog.
JB said
Yum!
Michelle said
Thanks!
denise:) said
Thanks for sharing this recipe- it made my mouth start watering this morning…
Michelle said
No problem! I hope you try it!
quirkyzen said
Thanks for the recipe! I love Hot and Sour soup!
Michelle said
I hope if anyone tries it, they let me know how it turns out!
martha said
Sound yummy. This may be a dumb question, but where does one find fish sauce?
Michelle said
I actually got it at my local grocery store. In our store, it’s in the same aisle as the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, lo mein noodles, etc. It’s probably about $4/bottle and it lasts quite awhile because a little goes pretty far in any recipe.
howbigspill said
The nights are starting to get chilly and I love hot and sour soup, especially when it has a nice kick. I even think I can get all of those ingredients locally, so I’m going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing. I’ll try to remember after I make it to stop back in and let you know how it went.
Michelle said
Please do, I love getting feedback on the recipes! The only thing I didn’t have in my cabinets already was the fish sauce, and that isn’t 100% necessary, it just adds to the already great flavor.
memphisweaver said
I am definitely going to try this. It doesn’t look very complicated and needs only a short time to simmer. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Michelle said
No problem, I hope you like it!
The Nevsky Girl said
mmmm… that looks mighty tasty! hahaha i’ll try the recipe soon, i’ve been making every soup imaginable except for that one. I LOVE SOUP!
Michelle said
I really love soup too, but it’s something I don’t often make and I really don’t know why. I’ll most likely change that this winter!
Maly said
It’s either this or wonton soup whenever I eat out at a Chinese restaurant near my school campus. I always get this because like you said, I love its tang! =))))) This makes me happy, hah.
Michelle said
Awesome! I like wonton soup too… I might try to make a dumpling soup I’ve had a local restaurant sometime.
Mike said
I’ll have to do a double blind study on some kids to see what happens with the different soups.
Michelle said
Now that would be interesting!
bren said
YOU R SOOOOO CORRECT! My favorite is coconut soup or good ole Khmer noodle soup:)
Michelle said
Mmm, coconut soup might be something to try soon!
Bamola said
Mmmm. That looks gorgeous and your recipe is easy! Here I thought Chinese restaurants used herbal magic to create this because I could never figure out what they used. Brava!
Michelle said
haha, I still think they use herbal magic. But this is still pretty delicious.
딘 (dean) said
i appreciate the recipe, thank you
Michelle said
I hope you like it if you try it!
Cello said
OH MAN OH MAN, could you make me a pot and send it to my apartment?
Michelle said
haha, somehow I don’t think that’d work out so well.
shoutabyss said
I finally got around to making this. (Thanks for sharing the recipe.) I really liked the simplicity of the recipe. Easy to make and easy clean up. I would also have appreciated a bit more detail in the “1/2 pound of chicken, poached, then shredded” step. After a bit of ‘net research I ended up boiling chicken for 20 minutes and that seemed to get the job done.
At first, I have to admit. I was rather disappointed. It wasn’t really reminiscent of hot and sour soup, at least for me. I like mine with a strong kick and a certain flavor.
As I began eat this dish, however, something interesting happened. As soon as I stopped thinking of it as “hot and sour soup” I realized I really liked it! So in my house I’ve dubbed it “Oriental-style chicken, bamboo and mushroom soup.”
I ended up really enjoying making and eating this and I thought I’d come back and give you my feedback. Thanks!
Porgrammable Slow Cooker said
OMG…your hot & sour soup looks amazing! I’m scrapping my existing dinner plans and making this. Thanks for sharing!