Hot and Sour Soup

Why this dinner works

Most weeknight one-pot dinners ask you to choose between two evils: a five-ingredient bowl that tastes like the inside of a saucepan, or a recipe so layered it eats your entire evening. Hot and Sour Soup sits comfortably in the middle. It draws on Chinese traditions where building flavor in stages — aromatics, then spice, then the slow swell of liquid into starch — is just how dinner gets made on a regular Tuesday.

The whole thing comes together in about 58 minutes in a single soup pot, which means dinner from idea to table is shorter than most podcast episodes. We've leaned on the everyday 15 ingredients listed below, but in the notes after the recipe you'll find the small swaps and shortcuts that make this dish forgiving when your fridge is half-empty.

Method

1. Step 1. - MAKING THE SOUP
2. Step 2. In a wok add chicken broth and wait for it to boil.
3. Step 3. Next add salt, sugar, sesame seed oil, white pepper, hot pepper sauce, vinegar and soy sauce and stir for few seconds.
4. Step 4. Add Tofu, mushrooms, black wood ear mushrooms to the wok.
5. Step 5. To thicken the sauce, whisk together 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 Tablespoon of water in a bowl and slowly add to your soup until it's the right thickness.
6. Step 6. Next add 1 egg slightly beaten with a knife or fork and add it to the soup and stir for 8 seconds
7. Step 7. Serve the soup in a bowl and add the bbq pork and sliced green onions on top.

Cook's notes

One pan, fewer dishes. Use the widest, heaviest soup pot you own with a tight-fitting lid. The wider base means faster browning at the start; the lid traps the gentle steam that finishes the dish without scorching the bottom.

Salt as you go. Season the aromatics, season the protein, season the liquid before it reduces. By the time you taste at the end, the only adjustment is usually acid — a squeeze of lemon, a splash of vinegar, a final crack of pepper.

Make it ahead. Like most one-pot dinners with chinese roots, the leftovers are arguably better the next day. Cool quickly, refrigerate within two hours, and reheat gently with a splash of water or stock to loosen things back up.

Pairings & serving

This one feels best in a 6-bowl spread with a sharp green salad and something cold to drink. If you want to stretch it for unexpected company, double the liquid and a single starchy ingredient — rice, pasta, potatoes, depending on the recipe — and the whole pan grows without much extra work.

Watch it cooked

If you're a visual learner, there's a free walkthrough of this dish on YouTube.

Original recipe inspiration: source.