Authentic Chicken Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

How to make authentic chicken hot and sour soup? Watch this video and master this amazing chicken hot and sour soup in just a few minutes.

Chicken Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

Serve: 6 people
Rest time: 2 hours
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

For the mushrooms:
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried wood ear mushrooms
Water, for soaking

For the chicken:
3 ounces chicken breast, cut into thin strips
Pinch of salt
Pinch of white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch slurry (1 teaspoon cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water)

Sauce one:
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of sugar

Sauce two:
5 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the soup:
6 cups chicken stock
1/4 carrot, julienned
1/3 cup in brined bamboo shoots (sold in any Chinese supermarkets)
3 thin slices ginger, julienned (about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/3 block soft tofu, cut into 1/4 inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch slurry (3 tablespoons cornstarch and 6 tablespoons water)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
3 scallions, finely chopped, for garnish

Instructions

To rehydrate the mushrooms:

In separate bowls, rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms in 1/2 cup water for 2 hours, and the dried wood ear mushrooms in water for 1 hour or up to 2 hours. (The wood ear will develop harmful bacteria if soaked for longer than 2 hours.)

Drain, reserving the soaking water from the shiitake mushrooms for later use. Slice thinly. Also slice the wood ear mushrooms.

To prepare the chicken:

Slice the chicken breast into thin strips.

In a medium bowl, add the salt, white pepper, soy sauce, cornstarch, and water and mix well. Transfer in the chicken and mix well to combine. Let marinate for 10 minutes.

To prepare other ingredients:

Cut the tofu into strips. Finely chop scallions. Julienne ginger and carrots.

Crack the eggs, add rice vinegar (it’s going to help the eggs stay silky and soft.) Whisk.

In a small bowl, make the first sauce: mix together the soy sauce, salt, and sugar.

In another small bowl, make the second sauce: mix together the Chinkiang vinegar, white pepper, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil.

To make the soup:

In a large pot over high heat, add the chicken stock, reserved mushroom soaking water, and the first sauce. Mix well. Bring to a boil.

Add the chicken, working quickly to break up the pieces with your chopsticks. Cook over high heat for about 2 minutes.

Then add the shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, carrot, bamboo shoots, and ginger. Cook over high heat for about 3 minutes, until softened.

Add the tofu and stir carefully. Cook over high heat for another 2 minutes.

Pour in the cornstarch slurry into the soup, and quickly stir until the soup reaches your desired consistency.

Pour in the second sauce. (We add this sauce last for two reasons: first, we don’t want the vinegar, white peppers, and sesame oil to evaporate throughout the cooking process, and second, we don’t want the color of the white cornstarch to cover up the color of the dark soy sauce. Think of it like painting: if you want the color to be more vibrant, you want the darker color to be on top of the lighter color, not the other way around.) Bring to a boil.

Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a circular motion, stirring gently with chopsticks.

Lastly, garnish with the chopped scallions and serve.