Homemade Hot and Sour Chinese Soup

[primalclaws1974]

I absolutely love Chinese hot and sour soup. Most Chinese restaurants make it, but not all are the same. The thicker and darker the broth, the better it tastes to me. The main ingredients in most of them are tofu, bamboo, mushroom and chicken. The ingredients wouldn't be hard to come by, but I don't know how to do the broth. How would I get it to proper consistency, color and taste? Thank you.

 

[Rhodolite]

The broth is made up of chicken stock, vinegar, chili sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, and cornstarch. This is pretty much the basic premise behind most American Chinese hot and sour soup broth. It's the cornstarch that really thickens the consistency.

 

[primalclaws1974]

The broth is made up of chicken stock, vinegar, chili sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, and cornstarch. This is pretty much the basic premise behind most American Chinese hot and sour soup broth. It's the cornstarch that really thickens the consistency.

I can see chicken stock, vinegar and sesame oil. The chicken stock is the backbone of most watery soups. I can taste a little acidity, which would explain the vinegar. It is about a four on a scale of 1-10 for spiciness, so that would explain the oil. Chili sauce is something unexpected, but the cornstarch is the real head-scratcher. My tastes are very sensitive to corn starch. I rarely cook with it (even as a thickener), because very minute amounts are detectable, and I hate the taste. Thank you for the information.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Could you try a different thickening agent such as xanthum gum or arrowroot?

I also came across this recipe for it on the BBC
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/412630/quick-and-easy-hotandsour-chicken-noodle-soup which looks pretty straight forward.

And this one, though what Tom yam paste is I have no idea but it does not have any thickening agent in it, so you could adapt it www.nigella.com/recipes/view/hot-and-sour-soup-166

This last one includes bamboo shoots as well, but also includes cornflour (cornstarch) but again you could substitute it with arrowroot.
Http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1685/szechuan-style-hot-and-sour-chicken-soup.aspx

 

[primalclaws1974]

Could you try a different thickening agent such as xanthum gum or arrowroot?

I also came across this recipe for it on the BBC
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/412630/quick-and-easy-hotandsour-chicken-noodle-soup which looks pretty straight forward.

And this one, though what Tom yam paste is I have no idea but it does not have any thickening agent in it, so you could adapt it www.nigella.com/recipes/view/hot-and-sour-soup-166

This last one includes bamboo shoots as well, but also includes cornflour (cornstarch) but again you could substitute it with arrowroot.
Http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1685/szechuan-style-hot-and-sour-chicken-soup.aspx

I have never heard of arrowroot. What is that? I generally use enriched white flour for a thickening agent. If a small amount is used, it will not affect the flavor of the food I am trying to make. I will definitely look into using one of these recipes, but I am probably going to have to stick with flour. Thank you for the research.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Arrowroot is simply a starch.

A starch extract of the root of a tropical plant native to the Americas called maranta. Arrowroot is used for thickening sauces, juices and syrups; when heated the starch turns to jelly and so thickens the liquid. Its great advantage over cornflour is that it’s completely tasteless (whereas cornflour can need cooking to get rid of its ‘raw’ taste) and it gives a clear finish when used to thicken certain soups, fruit syrups or sauces.

Cornflour is what we, in the UK, call corn starch.

 

[kammy]

Well i have never have Hot and Sour Chinese Soup before but from the descriptions that i've read here it does sound like it's tasty. The next time i stop by a Chinese restaurant i will be sure to give this soup a try.