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Handiہانڈیاردو
Desi Chinese

Hot and Sour Soup Recipe

ہاٹ اینڈ ساور سوپ بنانے کا طریقہ

Pakistani-Chinese hot and sour soup: chicken stock with shredded chicken, cabbage and carrot, sharpened with vinegar and chilli and thickened with egg.
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Illustration of Hot and Sour Soup

Prep

20 min

Cook

50 min

Total

1 hr 10 min

Serves

6

Difficulty

Easy

Spice

Medium hot

Hot and sour soup is the sharper sibling of chicken corn soup on the Pakistani-Chinese menu: the same rich chicken stock and cornflour body, but with finely shredded vegetables, a darker colour from soy, and a strong kick of vinegar, white pepper and chilli sauce. The sourness and heat are added at the end so you can balance them by taste. It is a favourite on cold winter nights and for anyone with a blocked nose.

Ingredients

6 servings

For 6 servings

Measures

Stock

Soup

Method

  1. Simmer the chicken with the water, garlic cloves, ginger and salt, skimming the scum at the start, until the chicken is tender.

    ⏱ 35 min

  2. Strain the stock (about 7 cups) and shred the chicken finely, discarding the bones.

  3. Heat the oil in the pot and fry the chopped garlic for 20 seconds. Add the cabbage, carrot and mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

    ⏱ 2 min

  4. Pour in the stock, add the shredded chicken, soy sauce, salt, white pepper and sugar, and bring to a boil.

    ⏱ 4 min

  5. Stir the cornflour slurry and add it slowly, stirring constantly, until the soup is thick and glossy.

    ⏱ 3 min

  6. Lower the heat. Stir in the vinegar and chilli sauce, taste and add more of either until it is clearly sour and peppery.

  7. Swirl the soup and drizzle in the beaten eggs in a thin stream. Leave for 30 seconds to set, then scatter the spring onion and serve.

    ⏱ 1 min

Tips for the best result

  • Add the vinegar off the boil. Long boiling cooks off its sharpness and can thin the soup.
  • Keep extra chilli vinegar and soy on the table; people like very different levels of sour and heat.

Common mistakes

  • Cutting the vegetables thick. They should be fine enough to sit on a soup spoon.
  • Using black pepper. It leaves specks and a different taste; the heat in this soup comes from white pepper.

How to serve

Serve piping hot as a starter, with chilli vinegar and soy sauce on the side.

Storing and reheating

Keeps 3 days in the fridge. Reheat gently and add a splash of vinegar to refresh the sourness.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories
280kcal
Protein
19g
Fat
17g
Carbs
13g
Fibre
1.2g
Sodium
1340mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 61

Whole dish ≈ Rs 370 · 61% of ingredients by weight priced

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works

Hot and Sour Soup: questions people ask

What is the difference between hot and sour soup and chicken corn soup?

Both share the same chicken stock and egg ribbons. Corn soup is mild and slightly sweet with sweetcorn; hot and sour soup has shredded vegetables, more soy, and a lot of vinegar, white pepper and chilli.

Can I make hot and sour soup without chicken?

Yes. Use vegetable stock or water, double the mushrooms and add cubes of paneer or tofu in place of the chicken.

Serve it with, and similar recipes

All desi Chinese recipes

Read this recipe in Urdu: ہاٹ اینڈ ساور سوپ بنانے کا طریقہ

https://handi.danixsoft.com/recipes/hot-and-sour-soup · Handi, DanixSoft