Chinese Hot & Sour Soup With Dumplings

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Ling Ling, all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Love Chinese hot and sour soup, but hate the gloopy texture in restaurants? Why not make your own with a simple homemade broth, tender-crisp vegetables and silky egg ribbons? Makes a great appetizer or light meal.

I love Chinese food and so does the kiddo. Whenever we go out for Chinese food, I always end up ordering the hot and sour soup. It is hot, sour and so satisfying. But, many times, it is also gloopy, slimy and thick with too much corn starch and other additives. Restaurants usually have the soups boiling away on a little burner at the buffet, which makes this soup almost astringent in taste. Not very pleasant. Thankfully, making soups at home is really easy.

The kiddo’s favorite Chinese food has got to be the pot-stickers. He can practically survive on those alone. Sometimes I make them at home with store-bought spring wrappers, but my folding skills are very basic.

And that’s why I was excited to try these Ling Ling Asian Dumplings that I found at our local Walmart. We picked the Chicken Dumplings in Chili Sauce, there is also a pork variant available.

The dumplings come perfectly portioned in three little bags, so you can take out a few at a time. And the best part is the delicious red chili sauce that it comes with. And the verdict? Just as delicious as from our favorite takeout place!

My spice-fearing son practically licked his bowl clean. It’s simply delicious!

And to round-up the meal, I served these chicken dumplings with my homemade hot and sour soup. The soup traditionally has shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots, but I was craving some Indo-Chinese style hot and sour soup. Usually it has more commonly found vegetables like carrots and beans. You can also add button mushrooms if you have them on hand.

To begin, I whipped up a quick broth with onions, ginger, garlic, chicken and herbs. Store-bought stock works just as fine and will cut down on the prep time. If you do not have that, you can also use a couple of stock cubes dissolved in hot water. A bit of chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and white pepper powder added to taste rounds out the flavors. I kept it a bit on light side, so the soup turned out lighter in color. I do not like a very thick hot and sour soup that is almost slimy in texture, so ditch the corn starch or use it sparingly. And when the soup has thickened to your liking and is bubbling away, whisk in some eggs. Ta-da!!

Here’s how to make Chinese Hot & Sour Soup.

Chinese Hot & Sour Soup With Dumplings

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Love Chinese hot and sour soup, but hate the gloopy texture in restaurants? Why not make your own with a simple homemade broth, tender-crisp vegetables and silky egg ribbons? Makes a great appetizer or light meal.

Author: Anjana Devasahayam

Recipe type: Appetizer, Main

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 4-6 as appetizer, 3 as meal

You will need:

For chicken broth,

• Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
• Onion - 1, roughly chopped
• Ginger - 2" knob, roughly chopped
• Garlic - 2-3 cloves, crushed
• Water - 6 cups
• Chicken thighs - 2, bone-in
• Cilantro - a few stalks
• Salt - 2 tsp
• White pepper powder - ½ tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp

For hot & sour soup,

• Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
• Green onions - 3, chopped
• Garlic - 1 clove, thinly sliced
• Carrots - 2, julienned
• Green beans - 6-8, thinly sliced
• Chili sauce - 2 tbsp (or to taste)
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
• Rice vinegar - 2 tbsp
• Corn starch - 2 tsp
• Eggs - 2, whisked
• Salt - to taste
• White pepper powder - to taste

How to:

1. Broth: Take a large soup pot or pressure cooker and heat oil. Add onions, ginger and garlic and saute till fragrant.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cover and cook till chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender. If you are using a covered soup pot, it will take at least 30 minutes. I used a pressure cooker and cooked for 3 whistles on high heat, which was faster.
3. Strain broth and set aside. Shred chicken and set aside. Discard the rest of the aromatics and bones.
4. Soup: Heat oil in a soup pot. Add green onions and garlic and saute for a few seconds.
5. Add vegetables and cook till tender-crisp, 5-6 minutes.
6. Add chili sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar and broth. Allow to come to a boil.
7. Dissolve corn starch in a few tablespoons of water and add to the soup. Cook for a few minutes till slightly thickened.
8. With the soup on a slight boil, slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs. Add the shredded chicken. Taste and adjust seasoning.
9. Serve hot along with Ling Ling Asian Dumplings.

Notes:

1. You can chicken stock instead of homemade chicken broth.
2. Adjust soy sauce, vinegar and pepper as per taste.
3. If you do not have rice vinegar, use white vinegar instead.

3.5.3228

Now you can get $2 off a box of Ling Ling Fried Rice, Noodles or Dumplings at any retailer where the products are sold. I also like the Ling Ling Fried Rice to serve for a simple family meal. You can read more about it here.

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What is your favorite soup? Do you make it at home? Do try this easy hot and sour soup recipe and let me know how you like it.

Go here for a simple, plain egg drop soup.

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