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Suanlatang (Hot and Sour Soup)
Serves 2 · About 20 min
Tofu, shiitake and pork simmered in a thickened soup, with egg swirled in, finished with vinegar, pepper and chili oil for a sour, spicy taste.
① Cut the fillings→② Simmer everything in the soup→③ Thicken→④ Pour in the egg→⑤ Finish with vinegar and pepper
What to buy
Meat
Tofu & eggs
Vegetables
Check what you already have
Tap an item to check it off (checks clear when you close the page). Tools: a pot (about 18–20 cm across) and a ladle.
How to make it
1
Cut the fillings
- Remove the shiitake stems and slice thinly, 5 mm wide. Cut the bamboo shoots into thin strips too
- Cut the tofu into long thin sticks 1 cm wide (cut it on the cutting board, not in your hand)
- Slice the green onions into rounds 2–3 mm wide
- Last, cut the pork into thin strips 1 cm wide. After cutting, wash with dish soap your hands, the knife and the cutting board
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat well. In another small bowl, mix 1 tbsp potato starch and 2 tbsp water (starch slurry)
How to tell it's doneAll the ingredients are cut, and the egg and starch slurry are ready.
Be carefulCut the raw meat after the vegetables and tofu. Wash with dish soap your hands, the knife and the cutting board that touched raw meat before touching the egg or bowls.
2
Simmer everything in the soup
- Put 500 ml water and 2 tsp chicken stock powder in a pot and put over medium heat
- When it boils, add the pork, pulling the slices apart one at a time
- Add the shiitake and bamboo shoots and simmer about 3 min. If white foam (scum) floats up, skim it off with a ladle and throw it away
How to tell it's doneThe pork is whitish all over, with no red parts. The shiitake are soft.
3
Add the tofu and thicken the soup
- Add 1 tbsp soy sauce and a pinch of salt, then add the tofu
- Turn to medium-low heat
- Stir the starch slurry again, then add it a little at a time while stirring the soup with a ladle
- Keep stirring gently until it bubbles again
How to tell it's doneThe soup has thickened, and the cloudy white parts have turned clear.
Be carefulTofu breaks easily. Move the ladle slowly, gliding it along the bottom of the pot.
4
Pour in the egg
- Turn to medium heat, and pour the beaten egg in a thin stream in a circle into the bubbling soup
- Do not stir right after adding. Wait 10 seconds, then stir 1–2 times in big circles with a ladle
How to tell it's doneThe egg spreads out fluffy and sets, and you cannot see any clear, raw egg.
5
Finish with vinegar and pepper
- After turning off the heat, add 2 tbsp vinegar and 1/4 tsp pepper, and give one big stir
- Taste. If it's not sour enough, add vinegar 1 tsp at a time
- Serve in bowls, top with green onions, and drizzle with a little chili oil
ReadyThe steam has a sharp vinegar smell, and when you sip it, the sourness comes first and then the heat of the pepper.
Be carefulIf you boil it after adding vinegar, the sourness goes away. Add it after turning off the heat.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🥬 Ingredient guide
If it didn't work out
It's not sourYou boiled it after adding the vinegar. Next time, add it after turning off the heat. This time, add vinegar 1 tsp at a time and taste.
It's too sour / too spicyToo much vinegar, pepper or chili oil. Add 50 ml hot water and a pinch of chicken stock granules to dilute it. Next time, add less and add more while tasting.
It doesn't thickenYou did not bring it to a boil after adding the starch slurry. Stir and let it bubble again.
The potato starch turned into lumpsYou added it all at once to the boiling soup. Next time, add it a little at a time while stirring.
The egg broke into bits and the soup is cloudyYou stirred right after adding the egg. Next time, wait 10 seconds, then stir in big circles.
The tofu broke into small piecesYou stirred too hard. After thickening, stir slowly in big circles with the ladle.
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