Quick Hot and Sour Soup with Dumplings

Hello, friends! Welcome to Djalali Cooks. Hot and Sour Soup is one of my most favorite soups; it’s a perfect warm up on a cold winter day. Its velvety thick broth, spiked with choose-your-own-adventure hot pepper slices, and the perfect amount of sour flavor to temper the heat and get the blood flowing. This soup is so simple in fact, that you can switch and swap the protein and add in other veggies to make it just to your liking! Well, let’s get right to it.

Hot and Sour Soup Base

The base of this soup is pretty standard and simple as far as Hot and Sour Soup goes. Shiitake mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce, bamboo shoots, white pepper and chicken broth. The vinegar goes in at the end, along with a cornstarch slurry to give it its trademark velvety thick texture.

You can get super creative with the add-ins. Say for example, you have leftover chicken – toss that in. Tofu? Toss it in. Maybe you don’t have dumplings. No problem, this soup works perfectly well without them. Just swap in chicken and/or tofu to give this soup a protein boost. Want to toss in carrots, or broccoli florets, go right ahead.

In a large saucepan, braiser or dutch oven, over medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of neutral tasting oil, like grapeseed or vegetable oil. Add your sliced shiitake mushrooms and grated or minced ginger. Cook until just fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Add in the soy sauce, bamboo shoots, chicken broth and white pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

Dumpling Time!

When the mixture comes up to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer and add in the frozen dumplings. If you’re adding in other veggies or proteins, add them now. Keep it at a low simmer for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dumplings are cooked through.

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons cornstarch to make a slurry. When the dumplings are cooked through, pour the slurry into the soup and stir to incorporate the slurry. Add the white vinegar and stir to combine. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes, until the broth has thickened.

Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning. If it needs more vinegar, add another tablespoon of vinegar and stir to combine. Add Kosher salt and black pepper if needed.

We will add the heat with the garnish. Thinly slice a Serrano or jalapeño pepper and one or two scallions. I went with cilantro instead of scallions.

Quick Hot and Sour Soup with Dumplings

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with as many hot pepper slices as you like, top it off with cilantro or sliced scallions.

This soup is done in less than 15 minutes, and with virtually no prep, you can be enjoying its silky, spicy goodness is about 20 minutes. I do hope you give this soup a try. You can dial up or down the sour and heat to make it just how you like it. It’s wonderful and easy with the packaged frozen pork dumplings. A restaurant-worthy Quick Hot and Sour Soup with Dumplings right in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Thank you all so much for joining me today. If you’re in the mood for a different Chinese Soup, try my Wonton Soup, you can make this one with packaged frozen wontons or dumplings too! Take care and be well, everyone xo Kelly

Print Recipe

Quick Hot and Sour Soup with Dumplings

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Dinner, Main Course – Chinese

By Adapted from Kay Chun via NYT Cooking – Serves: 2-6

Prep Time: 10 Minutes – Cooking Time: 10 Minutes – Total Time: 20 Minutes

Restaurant-worthy Quick Hot and Sour Soup with Dumplings is the perfect dish for a chilly winter day; with its velvety thick broth and heat.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp. Grapeseed or Vegetable Oil
• 8 oz. Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. Grated or Minced Fresh Ginger
• 8 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/3 cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup Drained Bamboo Shoots, cut into matchsticks
• 1/4 tsp. Ground White Pepper
• 12 Frozen Pork gyoza or Potsticker Dumplings (about 8 ounces)
• 2 tbsp. Cornstarch
• 3 tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar
• Thinly Sliced Scallions or Cilantro and Fresh Chiles (such as red Fresno, Serrano or jalapeño), for garnish

Instructions

1

In a large saucepan, braiser or dutch oven, over medium heat, heat 3 tablespoons of neutral tasting oil, like grapeseed or vegetable oil. Add your sliced shiitake mushrooms and grated or minced ginger. Cook until just fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

2

Add in the soy sauce, bamboo shoots chicken broth and white pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.

3

When the mixture comes up to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer and add in the frozen dumplings. Keep it at a low simmer for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dumplings are cooked through.

4

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons cornstarch to make a slurry. When the dumplings are cooked through, pour the slurry into the soup and stir. Add the white vinegar and stir to combine. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes, until the broth has thickened.

5

Turn off the heat and taste for seasoning. If it needs more vinegar, add another tablespoon of vinegar and stir to combine. Add Kosher salt and black pepper if needed.

6

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with as many hot pepper slices as you like, top it off with cilantro or sliced scallions.