Hot and Sour Soup (Betty Foo; Hunan Restaurant)

the flavor of this soup is perfect and better than alot of take-out ive had. the only change i made was to omit the tofu and add a few handfuls of coleslaw mix for crunch. very quick and easy and a keeper.

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I was looking for an authentic Chinese hot and sour soup recipe and this one looked like it was the real deal. And it was FANTASTIC! Now I have to admit I did not have lilly buds and in fact have never cooked with them so I'm not sure how that affects the taste. Also, the first time I served it I forgot to use a bit of sesame seed oil. Now that makes a BIG difference! Also, I used cooked pork from a loin the first time and when I wanted it again and didn't have any I used julienned roasted chicken and another time with ham. Obviously a different version but given the strong flavors of the broth base not as noticeable as one might think. I also prefer it with homemade chicken broth which tends to be a bit richer as I make it like Ina Garten with carrots, celery and onions and it has a higher fat content. I tend to put a bit more of the ginger as I like the flavor and also like diced scallions as a garnish as an alternative. Any way it's great and worth the effort and I encourage all to give it a try if you like a spicy, hot and sour soup and take out is not an option.

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I first made this soup for a birthday party and initially thought it was too vinegary. I thought that was because I didn't have white vinegar on hand and used a mix of apple cider vinegar and rice wine vinegar (I also omitted the pork to make it vegetarian). Even still by bite three I was hooked. I then made it again a week later but made sure to have the correct vinegar on hand (also used pork) and still found it delicious, but a bit too vinegary for my personal preference. It tasted amazingly good the following day though. Tonight I made it for the third time (just three weeks after having made it the first time) and omitted two tablespoons of vinegar (or one ounce) and it was the best yet. So my advice would be when making this for the first time to add a tablespoon of vinegar at a time and taste each time so that the flavor is what you want. If you like your hot and sour soup more on the vinegary side you'll probably end up sticking true to the original recipe (and it will still taste amazing) but my preference was for less. I've also never used the lily bulbs and omitted the pepper each time I've made it and couldn't tell the difference. The second and third time I also replaced corn starch for tapioca starch (I have a corn intolerance) and the consistency was fine. However you make it, it's a fantastic soup, a pain in the butt to prep, but delicious and well worth the effort.

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Unbelievably great! My father-in-law is first-generation Chinese, my mother-in-law is first generation Japanese. I've been eating well with them for almost 30 years. I also live in San Francisco, with some of the best Chinese food in the world and take full advantage of it. I would put this soup in a very elite group of "Best of the Best of a Lifetime" recipes. Admittedly, hot and sour soup is one of my favorite things to begin with, so my taste buds go that way. And I LOVE big, bold flavor in food, I freely use hot sauces, vinegars and spices. So this is my kind of thing. I noticed that the people who rate this low seem to be overpowered by the POW of it. So those who prefer subtlety in food, shying away from hot sauces and such probably aren't the best match for this recipe. But I sure am! And so were my dinner party guests last night. We were all blown away! Thank you Gandalf!

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Excellent. I don't give out "excellent" without deserving it, in fact, it's rare that something meets my standards on a website. This is authentic - I've been to China on extended trips twice and this is precisely what they'd serve to me. It's perfectly balanced and with the right amount of heat. This is the standard to which all hot and sour soups should go off of. Well done.

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I didn't have all the ingredients, but with just the ones I did have, it was good. My husband loves it. Thanks for the recipe.

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Wonderful, Wonderful Wonderful...I made this to go with our Asian themed dinner and company. We totally loved this. I followed the instructions only cut the cayenne down for the company and it was just right. Made for Fall PAC 2011.

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This is our favorite of the chinese soups. I wasn't sure how this would turn out but it was perfect. We thought it was the perfect amount of pepper and vinegar ratio. I loved this and will make again, DD thought it was better then our favorite restaurant. Thank you for sharing this family favorite of ours with us.

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Excellent soup. I made the full recipe but only used 1/2 t. each cayenne and white pepper. Wasn't sure this first time if it would be too spicy. It was perfect for us. Very filling. Served with Chinese Egg Rolls.

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This is better than at a good restaurant! I followed the recipe almost to a T except that I used chili oil at the end instead of cayenne pepper, and rotisserie chicken instead of pork. Oh, and I did add shiitake and shimeji mushrooms, because I love mushrooms!! Used the white vinegar. It came out just perfect! First time making this soup and this recipe was fantastic! The hubby loved it also =) THANKS!!

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Thank you! This soup was a total success. I also judge a restaurant by it's Hot & Sour, just like I judge a Mexican restaurant by their salsa. I decided to follow the recipe as far as vinegar and spice go, since my husband loves sour and we both love hot. Perfection! My husband even said "save this recipe", I said "I did". For those improvising, like me: I am moving and cleaning out my kitchen, so I used dried black fungus instead of mushrooms and lillies, and I had chicken instead of pork. I have full faith that next time, when I follow the recipe to the letter, it will be even better, but don't be afraid if you don't have everything. I also threw in some cilantro, but next time I will serve it on the side, so as not to over power the delicate flavor. Thank you so much for a wonderful night.

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OMG! DELICIOUS!!! However, what is the ginger root for??? I chopped it up nice and fine, and here it sits on my cutting board wondering what it's purpose is.

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Too much vinegar. We have put 4/5 of the amount in the recipe and it still was too much. (We used white vinegar.) Also it was more spicy than we expected (i.e. more spicy than this soup is usually in restaurants), next time we will put less cayenne pepper.

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This is a great soup with lots of different textures. It also has a very nice balance of flavors. We had it before our main coarse of different kinds of sushi, and it was loved by all!

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Yum!!! It was perfect, better that any restaurant Hot and Sour soup. I didn't have any dried lilly buds but hope to find some before I make my next batch. Boy did my family love this soup. Thanks for sharing.

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Great soup. Just the right amount of everything. I will make this again. Thanks

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Way too much Vinegar, I wasted all my ingredients.. Maybe you should use rice vinegar? More of a light flavor.

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This is fantastic. I omitted the pork as I didn't have any on hand. I was unable to find dried lily buds, so I left them out. The soup is perfect anyway. Its got a kick. Better than what I've had in the a restaurant. Thank you!

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This is the recipe for Hot and Sour Soup.. I have tried many different one But nothing compare to the flavor and texture. The only thing I will change the next time is I will try fresh Mushrooms instead of dried.

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Completely authentic! Thanks for sharing this great, classic recipe with us.

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