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Hot and Sour Soup

A Chinese soup made with chicken broth, soy sauce, vinegar, mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, and egg.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Bamboo shoots and tofu share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 21 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Hot and Sour Soup

4 persons

Ingredients

Directions

Make the soup base

  1. Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan.

  2. Add soy sauce, shredded meat, mushrooms, and garlic chili sauce.

  3. Simmer for 5 minutes.

  4. Add black pepper, white vinegar, bamboo shoots, and tofu.

  5. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Thicken and finish

  1. Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth.

  2. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well.

  3. Simmer for 5 minutes until soup is thickened.

  4. Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined.

  5. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup.

  6. Stir soup several times, then wait 30 seconds.

  7. Add green onions and sesame oil to soup. Stir well and remove from heat.

  8. Serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1344Calories
90 gProtein
57 gFat
115 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 17 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Chicken100g cooked165
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Waternot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0
Bamboo Shootsnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Bamboo shoots + tofutop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together21 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  2. Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,172 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  3. Garlic + bamboo shootstop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together66 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Mushroom + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,700 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Mushroom + bamboo shootstop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together113 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken broth
Provides the savory liquid base that carries all the other flavors.
Cornstarch
Thickens the broth into the silky body typical of hot and sour soup.
Egg
Sets into soft ribbons when poured into hot soup, adding richness and texture.
Tofu
Adds soft body and absorbs the surrounding soup flavors.
White vinegar
Adds the sour note that defines the dish.
Soy sauce
Adds salty, savory depth to the broth.

The step that matters

Pouring the beaten egg. Pouring the egg in a slow, fine stream into barely moving hot soup lets it cook into thin ribbons. Dumping it in or stirring too early leaves scattered clumps instead of silky strands.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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