• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mirchi Tales logo
  • Pakistani Recipes
  • Pantry Guide
  • Recipe Index
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Pakistani Recipes
  • Pantry Guide
  • Recipe Index
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Pakistani Recipes
    • Pantry Guide
    • Recipe Index
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Mirchi Tales » Recipes

    Chicken Hot and Sour Soup

    Published: Nov 7, 2020 · Modified: Feb 20, 2021 by Kiran

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Chicken hot and sour soup is a Chinese restaurant classic – it’s spicy and tangy, and filled with all sorts of delicious ingredients. This particular recipe is for an Indo Chinese or Pakistani restaurant style hot and sour soup with chicken, vegetables and silky egg ribbons all combined together in a spicy tangy broth.

    Two bowls of chicken hot and sour soup with a bowl of red chili paste next to the bowls.

    Chicken hot and sour soup – the ingredients:

    The ingredients required for chicken hot and sour soup are quite simple, and should be easily available in your house, or just require a quick run to the nearest grocery store.

    Ingredients laid out for chicken hot and sour soup. The ingredients are from top left - chicken stock, boiled chicken, cabbage, carrots, soy sauce, salt, cornflour, tomato ketchup, eggs, vinegar, salt and white pepper, and red chili paste.
    • Stock: Chicken or vegetable stock (or broth) both will work in this recipe. Make your own, or purchase it from the supermarket. Just remember that store-bought brands can be high in sodium content so adjust the salt in the soup accordingly.
    • Chili: This is where the hot part in the soup comes from. The heat comes from red chili powder, and red chili paste. I use the one from Aldi, but you can use whatever is available in your country. Some options include chili paste, sambal olek, sriracha sauce, chili sauce or chili garlic sauce. Just remember that the paste will usually be hotter than a sauce, so adjust quantity accordingly.
    • Soy sauce, vinegar and sugar: Soy sauce for that Chinese flavor, vinegar for sourness, and sugar to balance everything out.
    • Tomato ketchup: Not a traditional Chinese ingredient, but an essential component of Indo Chinese recipes as well as Pakistani Chinese recipes. This balances out the sourness in the soup, and also gives the soup it’s signature reddish hue.
    • Chicken: Boil chicken in salt and pepper. Shred it up and use it as a base for this soup.
    • Vegetables: Cabbage and carrot, shredded and julienned respectively are a must in this soup. It’s also possible to add sliced capsicum.
    • Cornflour / cornstarch: This is used to thicken the soup.
    • Eggs: Which we will whisk, and the drizzle into the soup to make those lovely egg ribbons.
    • Salt and white pepper: Chinese recipes, including hot and sour soup usually use white pepper. It’s got a slow heat to it versus the direct spice hit that comes from black pepper. In case white pepper isn’t available, black pepper can be used.

    How is the Indo Chinese or Pakistani hot and sour soup different from the regular Chinese version?

    If you order hot and sour soup from a Chinese restaurant in any other part of the world, the broth will be sour, and a little but mainly it will be earthy and smoky, with the broth being a rich dark color. Along with the main protein, the hot and sour soup will also mushrooms (porcini or shitake) along with tofu and bean sprouts.

    On the other hand, the Pakistani hot and sour soup will be red in color. Yes, red! The red color is quite common in Indo Chinese or Pakistani Chinese recipe and comes from the use of tomato ketchup and red chili powder. Indo Chinese cuisine is considered a style of cuisine that combines aspects of Chinese food and Indian flavors creating a hybrid version of spicy Asian dishes. This soup is a part of that cuisine, and hence is usually quite sour and spicy. Though there are few places that add tofu in soup, most of the times the main ingredients in the Pakistani hot and sour soup will be chicken and vegetables, usually carrot, cabbage and capsicum. Lastly, the soup is served with the classic Chinese restaurant trio of condiments – soy sauce, green chilies in vinegar and red chili paste.

    A saucepan filled with chicken hot and sour soup, with red chili paste in a small bowl on top of it.

    Is hot and sour soup healthy?

    It is, and with the addition of chicken and vegetables it can make for a complete meal.  One serving of hot and sour soup (which is a full bowl and a half of this recipe) has around 200 calories in it. Not only is it a great option for people looking to eat healthy or trying to reduce their calorie intake, but it is also super delicious! In case you want to change things up, you can add low carb options such as zucchini noodles, or additional meat and vegetables, focusing on low calorie options.

    How to make Indo Chinese style hot and sour soup?

    Making hot and sour soup is super simple! Just place everything in one pot, and let it simmer till done.

    • Prepare the broth: Place the chicken stock with spices, ketchup, chili paste and the other sauces in a saucepan and let it come to a boil.
    • Add the chicken and vegetables: Turn heat to low, and then add the chicken, cabbage, and carrots. Cook for about 5 – 8 minutes till the chicken and vegetables are warmed through.
    • Thicken the soup:  The soup is thickened in two stages, first by adding the cornflour / cornstarch slurry, and then by adding the whisked egg. As the whisked egg is added into the soup, egg ribbons are created which add texture as well as thickening the soup.
    • Serve: Serve delicious hot and sour soup with your choice of condiments!

    Looking for more soup recipes – check out the following below:

    1. Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup (No Cream)
    2. Vegetarian Mulligatawny Soup (Dairy free and Vegan free)
    3. Chicken Yakhni (Pakistani style chicken broth)
    4. Chicken Corn Soup

    Would love it if you could try out and rate the recipe, and let me know how it was in the comments below! 

    To keep updated with recipes, stories and so much more follow me on Facebook and Instagram

    📖 Recipe

    Two bowls of chicken hot and sour soup placed on a striped black and white napkin, with a bowl of red chili paste next to the bowls.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Chicken hot and sour soup

    Chicken hot and sour soup is a Chinese restaurant classic – it’s spicy and tangy, and filled with all sorts of delicious ingredients. This particular recipe is for Pakistani restaurant style hot and sour soup with chicken, vegetables and silky egg ribbons all combined together in a spicy tangy broth.
    Prep Time15 minutes mins
    Cook Time15 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Dinner, Lunch, Soup
    Cuisine: Chinese, Indian, Pakistani
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 200kcal
    Author: Kiran

    Ingredients

    • 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon white pepper
    • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
    • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
    • 1⁄4 cup vinegar
    • ¼ cup tomato ketchup
    • 2 teaspoon crushed red chili paste see note 1
    • 1 small carrot (¾ cup) julienned
    • 150 gram (1 cup) shredded cabbage
    • 1 ¼ cup boiled and shredded chicken see note 2
    • 3 tablespoon corn starch
    • 1⁄4 cup cold water
    • 2 eggs whisked

    Instructions

    • Place the chicken (or vegetable) stock in a medium sized pot on medium heat.
    • Add salt, white pepper, red chili powder, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup and chili paste.
    • Bring it to a boil, and then add the carrots, cabbage, and boiled chicken.
    • Cook for about 5 – 8 minutes till the chicken and vegetables are warmed through, and then make a cornflour slurry dissolving the cornstarch with water.
    • Add the cornflour slurry, and cook for about 2 minutes till the soup thickens.
    • Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Turn heat to low, and carefully add the eggs in the soup. Stir with a spoon till egg ribbons are formed. Adding the eggs will also thicken the soup.
    • Serve hot with additional soy sauce, vinegar and chili paste on the side along with fish or prawn crackers.

    Notes

    1. There are many versions of chili paste available in the supermarket – sambel olek, chili paste or crushed red chili paste. I use the one by Aldi but you can use whatever is available in your country. In case paste isn’t available chili sauce, chili garlic sauce or Sriracha sauce can be used but remember that the paste will usually be hotter than a sauce, so adjust quantity accordingly.
    2. Basic chicken cooked with salt and black pepper can be used in this recipe. The chicken can be sautéed in a pan, or boiled, or poached. The benefit of poaching the chicken is that the poaching liquid can be used as a stock. Leftover chicken pieces from making chicken yakhni (or chicken broth) can also be used in this recipe.

    More Recipes

    • A bowl of roasted ground cumin with a spoon, on a white plate.
      How to make Roasted Ground Cumin (Bhuna Zeera)
    • A bowl of chaat masala with a spoon in it, on a white plate.
      Homemade Chaat Masala (Quick & Easy)
    • A plate with mash ki daal in it, with a spoon next to it.
      Mash ki Daal (Urad Daal) – Instant Pot and Stove Top
    • Chicken malai tikka skewers on a white serving plate.
      Chicken Malai Tikka – Malai Boti

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. jia says

      February 01, 2021 at 2:40 am

      5 stars
      Chicken hot and sour soup
      its look yummy i will try tomorrow and give you return

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Kiran!

    Welcome to my kitchen. Here you will find Pakistani and Indian recipes along with delicious tea time desserts. I am all about putting a modern twist to traditional South Asian recipes for the contemporary kitchen.

    More about me →

    Ramadan Recipes

    • Two bowls of chana chaat, with one bowl having a spoon in it.
      Chana Chaat

    • A meal planner that will help you plan your meals in Ramadan. Plus there is a FREE sample menu guideline for sehri/suhoor, iftar and dinner.
      Ramadan meal planner + FREE sehri and iftar menu

    • A plate of lentil fritters with yoghurt, with more fritters on the side.
      Mash ki daal kay dahi baray | Lentil fritters in yoghurt | Dahi bhallay

    • A bowl of chaat masala with a spoon in it, on a white plate.
      Homemade Chaat Masala (Quick & Easy)

    • A mound of air fryer pakoras with coriander on top. Behind the air fryer pakoras is green chili sauce, and tomato ketchup.
      Air fryer pakora | No fry pakora | Healthy onion pakora

    • An image with the text 'Ramadan Food Preparation Guide. Prepare for Suhoor and Iftar in Advance'. On the back of the text is a collage of 9 pictures of iftar and suhoor snacks which includes shami kebabs, pakoras, green chutney, chaat, fried onions, and vegetable puff patties.
      Ramadan Food Preparation Guide with Recipes – How to prepare in advance for Suhoor, Iftar and Dinner

    • A golden bowl with imli or tamarind chutney in it.
      Imli Chutney w/o Dates (Tamarind Chutney)

    • A bowl of cilantro chutney with mint in a bowl, with a small spoon in it.
      Cilantro Chutney with Mint (Hari Chutney) | Green Chutney

    Popular Recipes

    • Kaali daal or khari masoor ki daal is a popular Pakistani lentil recipe made with black gram lentils. It can be served with chawal (rice) or roti.
      Kaali daal or khari masoor ki daal | Black gram lentils

    • A bowl full of Pakistani keema aloo topped with coriander leaves.
      Pakistani aloo keema | Ground mince with potato curry

    • Similar to a pilaf, aloo ki tahari or spiced potato rice is a Pakistani / Indian vegetarian dish made with rice and potatoes. Other vegetables can be used but the most popular are potatoes. 
      Aloo ki Tahari or Aloo Chawal | Spiced Potato Rice

    • So this isn’t exactly a recipe but a super simple delicious hack that turns frozen parathas into crispy flaky puri style paratha! Just the thing to have for breakfast with chai.  Follow my step by step tutorial on how to make frozen paratha in an air fryer! 
      Air fryer paratha | How to make frozen paratha in an air fryer

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2021 Mirchi Tales