It's both spicy and sour, loaded with pork and mushrooms, and incredibly easy to make. Skip the take-out and instead at home make your own Homemade Hot and Sour Soup with Pork in just 20 minutes!
What's your favorite thing about fall? The changing leaves? The crisp mornings? The everything Pumpkin Spice? For me, those first two for sure, but not necessarily the last. For me, it's not Pumpkin Spice season, it is Soup Season. We're kicking it off with this new favorite: Homemade Hot and Sour Soup!
This soup is one of our new favorites because it's easy to make and it has everything you love from your favorite take-out hot and sour soup: heat, spice, and just a touch of sour. But ours, unlike a traditional Chinese hot and sour soup, our version is loaded with some spicy sausage, too!
Ingredients Needed
Another reason why I love this hot and sour soup recipe is that it's a lot of flavor that uses only a few ingredients!
- Ground Pork - Again, we love the addition of a spicy ground pork for this, but to keep it more traditional, you can use your favorite firm tofu.
- Mushrooms - We used cremini mushrooms but shiitakes are also delicious in this recipe.
- Chicken Stock - Or Vegetable Stock if using tofu and want to keep this soup vegetarian.
- Rice Vinegar - This adds the "sour" component of the soup. Be sure to use a traditionally brewed, unseasoned rice vinegar. You could also substitute a white vinegar or even apple cidar vinegar.
- Chili Garlic Sauce - The "hot" component of the soup and adjustable to taste. Like it hotter? Add another teaspoon!
- Soy Sauce and Ground Ginger - To add more depth of flavor.
- Eggs - For delightful egg ribbons.
- Green Onions - To add a pop of freshness!
Easy to Make
I think I may have mentioned it, but this hot and sour soup recipe is so easy to make.
Step 1: Add (almost all of) the stock, rice wine vinegar, ginger, chili garlic sauce, and soy sauce and bring to a simmer.
Step 2: Meanwhile, cook your pork.
Step 3: Thicken the soup by whisking the corn starch with some of the stock.
Step 4: Create egg ribbons by slowly drizzling whisked eggs in.
Step 5: Add pork and green onions and you're done!
The total time, for this Homemade Hot and Soup Soup, is less than 20 minutes! Lots of pork. Lots of mushrooms. Lots of delicious. We each added, even more, chili garlic sauce to our bowls and some Sriracha to our own bowls because we like it extra spicccaayyyy.
Customizable
This recipe is a good base for a pretty mild hot and sour so that you can add to
Make it Hotter: Add more chili garlic sauce or some dried chili / red pepper flakes.
Protein: Not a sausage fan? No problem. Substitute chicken or just add tofu. See recipe notes for the how tos.
Either way, dust off those dutch ovens, Crock Pots, and Instant Pots and cozy up with some soup this soup season!
Our Other Favorite Soups
- Crock Pot Chicken Pho
- Crock Pot Beef Pho
- Egg Roll Cabbage Soup
- Crock Pot Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
- Chickpea Kale Curry Soup
- Roasted Parsnip and Potato Soup
- Rhode Island Clam Chowder
- French Onion Soup From Scratch
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Homemade Hot and Sour Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 oz ground pork
- 8 oz mushrooms creminis, shiitake, whatever you have
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1/4 cup set aside
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 3-4 green onion sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 eggs whisked
Instructions
- Over medium high heat add all of the stock, except 1/4 cup, to a large dutch oven or stock pot.
- Add the mushrooms, vinegar, soy, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger, and white pepper to the stock. Mix and then bring it all to a simmer and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a saute pan on medium, cook ground pork until done, crumbling as it cooks. Approximately 7-10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove pork from pan onto a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- While pork cooks, add 1/8 cup of cornstarch to the bowl with the 1/4 cup of stock. Once the stock comes to a simmer, stir in cornstarch stirring continuously until soup begins to thicken.
- Gently drizzle the whisked eggs into the soup while stirring the soup continuously . This will create egg ribbons.
- Add pork, stir, and add more salt or chili garlic paste to taste.
- Top with green onions and serve!
Great recipe. Two things though….
1. You don’t show where to add the ground ginger. (I’m assuming it goes in with the rest of the ingredients.
2. In the quantity listing you use 1/8 cornstarch but in the instructions you use 1/4 cup.
Thank you so much, Ginna for letting me know! Updated and so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
This recipe is delicious and so easy to make! Perfect for the cool January weather we are having!
This looks so much better than take out! I'll be making this for dinner this week!
You have inspired me to go to my local Asian grocery and get some chilli garlic sauce! That ingredient looks delicious and the whole dish sounds fabulous. Cheers for making me want to make this dish....right now!!!
Looks delicious and comforting. We really love making the soups with mushrooms, such great flavor!
Homemade is always best. This hot and sour soup looks fantastic - and surprisingly simple!
Whoa, this looks way better than the stuff you get in take-out places.
Thanks, Sean! It is! Plus, I prefer it with pork over tofu, too!
One of my favourite soups, so warming.
Mine too! I hope you enjoy!