Suan La Tang, or hot and sour soup, is a fiery soup enjoyed all across China, especially during the frigid winter months. Bamboo shoots, mushrooms, tofu, egg, and black vinegar are just some of the flavorful components in this soup.
Where Hot & Sour Soup had its Start
It was originally created to help the impoverished keep warm. Thus, white pepper is utilized extensively. This soup’s therapeutic properties date back to the Han Dynasty, when it was used to treat the common cold. No one knows for sure when the dish was initially produced, although it was likely during the Qing period (1644-1912).

Several Chinese Variants Exist
Suan La Tang is the name given to the hot and sour soup commonly made with chicken and pig stock in the Sichuan region of China.
Hu La Tang is the name for a soup often made with beef or lamb stock in the North. Despite obvious variations in appearance and taste, there are also many parallels between the two.
Ingredients

Shiitake Mushrooms, Dried
When it comes to taste, dried shiitake mushrooms much surpass their fresh counterparts. Ribonucleic acid is significantly simpler to extract and hydrate after being dried in the sun. Nevertheless, the texture is not as smooth and the flavor is more intense than that of fresh shiitake mushrooms. Thus, the rules
- If you want to improve the flavor of your hot and sour soup, try using dried shiitake mushrooms.
- Not so much as to become obnoxious
Ear Mushrooms of Wood
The wood ear mushroom gives the soup a beautiful dark hue and a satisfying crunch. Cut the wooden ear mushrooms into smaller pieces if you want the soup to look nice.
Squishy Tofu
A silky smooth and velvety soft texture can be achieved with the help of tofu. For this soup, the silken tofu is the best option.
Protein
Protein options include shredded pork, shredded chicken, braised beef or lamb, and shellfish. In addition, pre-processed proteins like ham, spam, and the like work wonderfully in hot and sour soup. You can really elevate the flavor of your soup by using high-quality ham. Coated pork shreds are a good alternative to the other processed meats if you can’t get them all by hand or they’re not acceptable. Sliding pork in water” is the literal translation of a famous Sichuan street food. It’s silky smooth on the outside and has a very delicate inside. Later, I’ll present the genuine article. Making this hot and sour soup will give you a general notion of the meat’s potential flavor.
Ingredients
- Three reconstituted dry shiitake mushrooms, cut thinly and steeped in hot water
- Shredded dried wood ear mushrooms, 14 cup reconstituted in hot water
- Shaved Pork, 50 Grams
- Finely shred 4 bamboo shoots
- 1/3 cup shredded carrot
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 2 tsp. finely-milled white pepper
- 5 cups of chicken stock, unsalted
- Soft tofu, 50 grams
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce, or light soy sauce
- 1 tsp. Brownish soy sauce
- 1 tsp. or seasoning with salt
- ½ tbsp. sugar
- Whisk together 1 big egg.
- 3 tbsp. Vinegar, Black
- Drizzleable sesame oil
- green onion and coriander, chopped
Marinating the pork
- 2 tsp. Soy sauce, mild
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. starch
- ¼ tsp. salt
Grainy H2O
- 3 tbsp. Ingredients similar to cornstarch or other starches
- 3 tbsp. water
Instructions
- To make the pork, combine equal parts of light soy sauce, sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a bowl, then add in pork shreds. Maintain a healthy blend.
- Put ginger slices, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and carrots in a pan. Stir in the chicken stock, come to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Put in some sugar, salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce. Hold off for another 2 minutes.
- Next, add some shredded tofu. When the liquid begins to boil again, add the pork shreds and mix them in carefully with a chopstick.
- The starch water should be stirred once before being added to the soup. Create a thicker consistency by heating.
- Squeeze in some of the egg white. Reduce the size of the blooms by swirling at a higher speed. Instead, for more substantial blooms, a rougher stir may be necessary.
- Add some ground white pepper and black vinegar. Immediately turn off the stove.
- Green onion and coriander, when chopped, add a pleasant fragrance. Serve immediately with a drizzle of sesame oil.
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