Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Serves: 3 to 4
This Hot and Sour Soup is a Chinese restaurant classic which tastes even more delicious homemade!
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 300 g (11 oz) chicken breast fillets
- 1 tablespoon ginger, coarsely grated
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2-3 red chillies, or to taste, finely chopped
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) fresh shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ litres (6 cups) Asian Chicken Stock, or chicken stock with stock cubes
- 60 ml (¼ cup) Shaoxing cooking wine
- 90 ml (⅓ cup) soy sauce
- 60 ml (¼ cup) white vinegar, or rice vinegar, or more to taste
- 200 g (7 oz) canned sliced bamboo shoots
- 3-4 tablespoons cornflour, (US: cornstarch)
- spring onions, (scallions) finely sliced
- coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large saucepan which will take all of the ingredients later, heat the oil.
- Cook the chicken breast fillets until lightly golden on each side.
- Remove the chicken from the pan and leave to rest on a plate.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the ginger, garlic and chillies.
- Stir-fry for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes until they have softened.
- Add the chicken stock, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then let it simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, shred the chicken breast fillets and add them to the soup, along with the sliced bamboo shoots.
- Mix the cornflour (cornstarch) with some cold water to make a slurry.
- Slowly add slurry to the soup while stirring the soup at the same time to avoid lumps in the soup. The soup should have a slightly thickened consistency. Keep adding more slurry to the soup until you have the desired thickness; if your soup is too thick, simply thin it with some boiling water from a kettle.
- Taste the soup for seasoning. You may wish to add some more soy sauce and/or rice vinegar.
- Serve with a generous sprinkle of spring onions (scallions) and coriander (cilantro).
Kitchen Notes
- VARIATIONS
As mentioned above, you can add whatever vegetables you like to this soup. Some suggestions include finely shredded Chinese cabbage, sliced green beans, or diced capsicums (bell peppers). - MAKE IT VEGETARIAN
For a vegetarian version, simply replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock, and omit the chicken. Silken or firm tofu is a delicious alternative to meat in this recipe. - ADD AN EGG
For a more substantial soup, beat 1 egg in a small bowl. While the soup is simmering, slowly pour in the beaten egg, but make sure you stir the soup quickly so that the egg forms thin ribbons in the soup. - ROTISSERIE CHICKEN
For a quick short-cut, replace the chicken breast fillets in this recipe with shredded rotisserie chicken (barbecued chicken). - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.