I am not, nor ever will be … an “Egg Drop” guy. Nope, I like mine SPICY! So this Vegan Hot and Sour Soup is absolutely PERFECT with just the right combination of heat and tang.
And the best part?
It only takes a handful of ingredients and maybe 30 minutes of your time to make this absolutely DIVINE Vegan Hot and Sour Soup.
It’s thick and tangy, and you can totally adjust the heat to make it as spicy as you like.
I use a jar of something called Chili Garlic Sauce for the heat in this soup. In my grocery store, it’s in the same section as the Jasmine Rice, Soy Sauce, and other Asian food items.
I can’t pronounce the name (Huy Fong) – but look for the Rooster on the jar. I’ll include a link here so you can see what it looks like. This is an affiliate link and I will be compensated if you buy it.
And ladies, just ½ tsp was perfect for my wife – and she does NOT do spicy.
Serve this soup with some chopped green onions for garnish, and add a big bowl of sticky rice and you have a tasty and nutritious meal without any of the greasy mess of normal take-out.
And if you REALLY want to go all out, make up a batch of my Vegan Orange Chicken too…..
Omgosh…… pure heaven.
Ok – ’nuff blabberin’.
Let’s go make some soup!
Vegan Hot and Sour Soup
Vegan Hot and Sour Soup | Brand New Vegan
Start with 8oz of Extra Firm Tofu. Drain all the water out of the package and then wrap the block of Tofu up in a few paper towels. Now cover it with something heavy (cutting board) and let it press all that moisture out for at least 5-10 minutes.
While the Tofu is doing its thing – slice up your Shiitake Mushrooms and set them aside. (you can use any mushroom, even canned, but fresh Shiitakes are the best)
When the Tofu is done pressing, slice it up into small cubes (about ¾ in.)
Add 2 cups of Low Sodium Vegetable Broth and 1 cup of water to a large soup pot and bring it to a low boil. Toss in the mushrooms, the Tofu, 3 Tbs of Low Sodium Soy Sauce, and 1 Tbs of Hoisin Sauce. Give that a stir and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes.
(New: You can also add 4oz or so of Bamboo Shoots too if you like, sliced into thin strips).
Now stir in 3 Tbs of Rice vinegar (Apple Cider would work too), ½ tsp Chili Garlic Sauce (1 tsp if you like it spicy), and 1/8 tsp of White Pepper.
Stir that up and let it keep simmering for another minute or two.
Finally, make a slurry of 3 Tbs Water and 3 Tbs Cornstarch. Whisk until smooth and pour that into the soup. Stir to mix well and you should see it beginning to thicken immediately.
Allow it to simmer until it has thickened to your liking, and serve.
See? Wasn’t that easy? Who says cooking good food is hard?!
I served this up with some freshly chopped Green Onions for garnish and a big bowl of sticky rice.
Be sure and comment and let me know what you think……
(Oh wait! I forgot to mention those little Asian Spoons are like the cat’s meow for eating this soup! I had to go to a specialty Kitchen Store to find mine, but they are really great for this soup!
Ok…..they’re for the photo, but I did use it too!. Here’s another affiliate link —> http://amzn.to/2Doq13S )
Until next time…..
Peace
I am not, nor ever will be ... an "Egg Drop" guy. Nope, I like mine SPICY! So this Vegan Hot and Sour Soup is absolutely PERFECT with just the right combination of heat and tang.
- 2 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup Water
- 8 oz Tofu (extra firm)
- 8 oz Shiitake Mushrooms
- 4 oz Bamboo Shoots (optional)
- 3 Tbs Low Sodium Soy Sauce
- 3 Tbs Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tbs Hoisin Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce (or more to taste)
- 1/8 tsp White Pepper
- 3 Tbs Cornstarch
- 3 Tbs Water
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Drain Tofu and wrap in towels. Cover with something heavy and allow to press for 5-10 minutes. Then cut into 3/4" cubes.
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Rinse and de-stem mushrooms, then slice into strips. Set aside.
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Bring 2 cups of Low Sodium Vegetable Broth and 1 cup of Water to a slow boil in a large soup pot.
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Add mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, and hoisin. Stir to combine. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
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Stir in vinegar, chili sauce, and pepper. Continue simmering for 1-2 minutes.
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Whisk cornstarch and water together to make a slurry then stir into soup. It should begin to thicken immediately.
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Stir well and simmer until thickened.
Garnish with freshly chopped Green Onions. Recipe originally published July 1, 2015.
Tips are always appreciated!
Ellen
Yum! It looks great. This soup would be a great vehicle for adding more vegetables such as spinach and broccoli.
Sandy
Can you suggest a substitute for the tofu? I can’t have soy.
Chuck Underwood
Add more veggies, add more mushrooms.
Sandy
Thanks!
MM
I came across this recipe yesterday and had to make it for dinner tonight! Yes, I’m aware it’s 90°F out, but I haven’t had hot & sour soup in 15 years! This recipe didn’t let me down one bit! I’d sworn I had Sriracha sauce at home, but realised I was mistaken. I substituted a bunch of cayenne pepper and it turned out just fine.
Thank you for the recipe, Chuck!
Paula Baldwin
Sometimes I don’t want tofu either. I substitued diced up cauliflower
Andrea
Loved it!
Rachel
Wow this was like one of the nicest meals I’ve eaten since going vegan! I had it with wholewheat pasta to make it more of an evening meal. Delicious!
Mary Riddle
Wow! This was superb! Thanks Chuck!
Patience
Blustery snow day today, so I’m making this again, for the second time in two weeks! It’s that yummy and warming….and easy! I’ve got my veggie-scrap broth cooking away in my Instant Pot as I type — once that’s done I’ll be assembling the rest of the ingredients, adding skinny ramen-like noodles in place of the tofu (only because I have none on hand at the mo’), plus adding chopped fresh turnip greens (which I happen to think really complement the flavors of the broth beautifully). Perfect fare for a ‘Winter’s Last Hurrah’ kind of day ;-D
Linda Davison
This was awesome! I made this along with your orange “chicken” which I served with sushi rice. My husband, who is not vegan but tries most things, raved about the soup and said the cauliflower was the best he had ever taken. Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes.
Suzy
Excellent! I cut the recipe in half because it’s just the two of us. I won’t next time! It’s delicious! I want more!!! Thanks Chuck!
Elsie L Smothers
Hey Chuck, my love LOL Just kidding. I just made this and it is yummmy for my tummy I couldn’t find those mushroom so I used portabella. Also I added some water chestnuts for a nice crunch. It delish! Thank you for being so sharing of your talents.
Kim Adams
This is my favorite soup! Last night I was craving it ran to the store to grab the few things I didn’t have on the list. THANK YOU!!! It was perfection. I even skipped a few steps in the directions and literally just put everything into the pot. Took like 15 minutes for me.
Lisa Smith
One of your failings is that you cater to Americans only. You often use American products in your recipes. The online community is much larger than the US and other people would like recipes using ingredients that they can make/obtain easily. When you use packaged foods, it lets us down.
Vera
Everyone creating a recipe or posting anything online has to cater to everyone online?!? OMG! hahahahaha
Easy solution: Go find recipes in your country then. Don’t mark down people’s recipes because of your personal problems. Chuck is very responsive and you could try asking for substitutes that may be recommended as other people online do.
Gail Rene Barth
I love this soup. My favorite. I slice onions very thin and add for the look of bamboo shoots, Works great.
Anne Gubbins
This soup is so good! I am fighting off a nasty virus and craving Hot Sour Soup. This really hit the spot. I used about half the amount of cornstarch in order to have a thinner consistency and I forgot to slice the bamboo shoots – oops – which would haver made it easier to eat. I also used baby Bellas since the grocery didn’t have shiitakes. This is delicious; thanks for another winning recipe!
Abi
Chuck…evidence of my love for this recipe is me always having all ingredients in stock, doubling it at least once a week, and all of my friends (both carnie and vegan) that have downloaded it. Keep up the good work, fellow tree hugger <3
Reena
Just made this. Definitely on point and super simple. I used a little less vinegar since I don’t like it too sour.
Perfect recipe!
MCC
Women apparently like spicy food more than men do….(Not sure about the “ladies” comment..)
https://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/men-claim-spicy-food-women-actually-enjoy-it-st
MM
Hear! Hear! I’m a HUGE fan of spicy food and always had to tone it down whenever I cooked for any of my boyfriends.
Michelle
This is my go to soup – we use portabella mushrooms and my mushroom-hating DH LOVES it! It’s become a weekly staple. Major kudos for getting the spicy just right – he adds a little extra heat, I like it exactly as written.
Marylou
Amazing, as always Chuck! Thank you!!
Sucheta Frankel
Love your recipes! Loved the IDEA of your soup UNTIL you got to the adding THREE TABLESPOONS of cornstarch. THAT is the equivalent of adding NINE teaspoons of sugar to the recipe. As a diabetic, that puts this recipe out of reach, and the added cornstarch is the reason I can no longer eat even vegan Chinese food out. This problem is easily solved by substituting agar-agar, a seaweed, as the thickening agent. By the way, nearly everyone I know, myself included, had a very tough last week. Keep up the delicious experimenting! Here’s to easier times.
Chuck Underwood
Thanks for pointing that out – I have made this soup many times since and never used that much anymore. I think I only use 1 or 2 tsp of Arrowroot now. I’ll fix it.
Janine
I’m only writing so you’re aware that the original recipe still calls for 3T of cornstarch.
Chuck Underwood
I used 2Tbs last night – you can modify this to get the consistency you like. Arrowroot works too.
Arlene Carter
Just thought I would add to the thread… I made your hot and sour soup for the first time tonight and loved it! And so did my children.
As an additional note… I did not add any corn starch and I much preferred the consistency that way!
Great recipe!!!
Chris Hartjes
I’m a hot and sour soup fan. Was looking for a vegetarian/vegan recipe, and this one turned out great!
Mary L Martin
Love it i make this weekley
Diane
🥣Recipe still reads to add3 tbsp cornstarch instead of arrowroot in your comment above. . Can you correct this and indicate how much arrowroot to use so it won’t be so thick?
Mary
He says “ one or two teaspoons of arrowroot in his above comment
Jackie noor
I could not believe how good this is!! Even tho i didnt have sesame oil or hoisin sauce or bamboo shoots its still as good if not better than the soup i get in restraunts. Thank you so much, now when i want soup i know it wontbtakevvery long to have it within monutesdid i say thank you, thank you again
Janine
My son can’t have sesame and I’ve never found a hoisin sauce that didn’t contain his allergens. Did you just omit thesse ingredients or sub more soy sauce?
Chuck Underwood
I do have a hoisen sauce recipe on my blog – but you can just leave it out
Deron Day
This recipe is awesome! I really wanted some hot and sour soup as it is one of my favorites. The restaurant that I would get it from before I went to a plant based diet makes it with chicken and other things that I’m sure I shouldn’t eat. This is the real deal! Thank you for sharing.
Kathryn G
YUM!! I’ve really been craving Hot & Sour Soup. I don’t recommend going to an Asian restaurant and asking for it without the egg. They look at you like you are crazy.
I admit that this is the second time I made this soup. The first time was a flop, but because everything else I’ve made from this site has been beyond amazing ( when I made the mac and cheeze, I thought my husband was going to hook me up to a lie detector because he couldn’t believe there was no cheese in it!) Also, the reviews are good, so I went with “user error” and tried again. Yep, user error. The second try was the charm. It was so delicious. I really glad I gave it a second try! Keep the recipes coming!!
Geneva Ayte
Added baby bok choy and tiger lily buds (a/k/a golden needles). This is the bomb.
Kristin
OMG this is SO GOOD! My husband had the flu and wanted hot and sour soup for dinner. This is the first time I’ve made it at home, and the recipe was easy and delicious! We both went back for seconds! THANK YOU!
Alanna
This recipe looks amazing! One note: the spoons you linked to on Amazon are made of bone china. (Not the most ethical or vegan choice!) Can’t wait to try the recipe. Thanks!
Brandon King
The soup is really good but not nearly spicy enough for my taste. I recommend adding a 1/8 tsp of cayenne and doubling the recipe chili garlic powder and then going from there.
I also added a little pink Himalayan salt, carrot and broccoli
If you don’t have or want tofu, this make a great base for some ramen or rice noodles.
You can do so much with this soup.
emily
How many calories per serving??
Karin Feltman
i live in nepal so can’t get “specialty” ingredients like huy fong’s chili sauce or hoisin- so i used dried mango powder, soy sauce, and coconut aminos (brought those with me from the US. haha) and the flavor profile was just delicious. thanks for this amazing, easily adaptable soup. i also loaded it up with veggies (carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, daikon, mushrooms, and garlic) for a full, hearty meal.