Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup is so easy to make at home and better than takeout! This classic Chinese soup is spicy, tangy, and packed with nutritious vegetables.
Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Instant pot hot and sour soup is one of the most unique and flavor packed soups! The combinations of spicy chili sauce and sour vinegar is a perfect match. It has always been one of my favorite soups when ordering Chinese take out!
The best part about making this soup at home is that you can control the spice level of this soup to your liking. I love a homemade soup recipe that can come together in a flash so I can prep an easy side and have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!
Using an Instant Pot to make soup is a great way to cut down on cooking time. Not only does the Instant Pot cook soup in an instant, you don’t need to monitor and stir the soup stove top. Instead you can dump all the ingredients into the pot, set it and forget it. While the soup is cooking you can prep an easy side dish like Bang Bang Shrimp Egg Rolls!
Just like that you will have a piping hot pot of soup and a yummy side dish! If you have never made hot and sour soup at home you are in for a treat!
What is Hot and Sour Soup?
Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup is a flavorful soup that has mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, ribbons of egg, and often dried lily flowers. The soup is savory, spicy and tangy (hence the hot and sour).
The broth is thickened with corn starch and has a thicker consistency than most soups. Traditionally, a combination of shiitake and wood ear mushrooms are in the soup.
This restaurant classic hot and soup soup is a fan favorite and one of my personal favorites. It is so simple to make at home with an Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker.
Hot and sour soup can be made vegetarian, vegan, keto and gluten free making it a versatile soup for all diets. The soup is low calorie, low carb (Keto friendly) and is full of nutritious ingredients!
What is in Hot and Sour Soup?
Hot and Sour Soup Broth Ingredients
- Broth – chicken or vegetable – use a broth to suit your dietary needs, chicken or vegetable broth can be used.
- Soy Sauce – adds umami and a deep color to the soup. I prefer using a low sodium soy sauce to keep the salt level lower.
- Mushrooms – traditionally shiitake mushrooms are used in this soup but you can use cremini, button or white mushrooms
- Wood Ear Mushrooms – sold dried, these mushrooms need to be soaked in water for about 5-10 minutes until they are softened. They can be found in your local Asian Grocer.
- Rice Vinegar – the sour of this soup comes from the addition of vinegar. Rice vinegar is a classic Asian ingredient now easily found in all grocery stores. It has a sweeter flavor than regular white vinegar.
- Red Wine Vinegar – I love the addition of red wine vinegar in hot and sour soup. It adds a beautiful color to the soup and also an additional sour flavor
- Chili Garlic Sauce – the hot of this soup comes from chili sauce. This sauce is similar to sriracha and can be substituted with sriracha. The difference is chili garlic sauce is not pureed. It is a chunkier sauce that is packed with garlic flavor
- Ginger – fresh grated ginger adds a pop of freshness to the soup
- Pro Tip – keep a piece of ginger frozen in a ziploc bag or wrapped in plastic. When you need a small amount of ginger for a recipe just grate it into your recipe from frozen! No need to buy fresh ginger for each recipe you make.
- Sesame Oil – adds a deep sesame flavor to the soup
- White Pepper – to add a peppery flavor to the soup without having small pieces of black pepper in the soup, white pepper is the secret!
Hot and Sour Soup Mix-Ins
- Tofu – I recommend using a firm tofu sliced into strips or cube. A firm tofu will not breakdown in the soup and will keeps its shape.
- Bamboo Shoots, optional – sold canned in the international aisle of grocery stores they add a unique flavor and texture to the soup
- Egg – my favorite part of this soup is the beautiful egg ribbons
- Cornstarch and Water – gives this soup it’s thick texture. To keep the soup low carb omit this.
- Green Onion – a garnish of green onion adds a nice pop of color and freshness to the soup
How to Make Hot and Sour Soup
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of Page
Pressure Cook the Broth
1 Place the dried wood ear mushrooms in a large bowl or measuring cup and cover with warm water. Leave the mushrooms to soak for 5 – 10 minutes, or until softened. Drain and rinse the mushrooms. Cut off the hard center piece of the mushroom and discard. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.
2 Add all of the soup broth ingredients to the Instant Pot (or Electric Pressure Cooker). Stir until evenly combined. Put the lid on the pot, lock in place and turn the pressure valve to SEALING.
3 Use the Manual Pressure cook button, or Soup button on the pressure cooker and set the time for 5 minutes. The pot will take about 5 – 10 minutes to come to pressure.
4 When the cooking time is done allow the pot to Natural Release for 10 minutes (i.e. do not change any settings on the pot, release any pressure or try to remove the lid). When the pot reads L00:10, indicating it has been naturally releasing for 10 minutes, carefully turn the pressure valve to VENTING to release any remaining pressure. Once the pin on the lid has dropped carefully remove the lid from the pot.
Add the Soup Mix-Ins
1 Turn the pot on sauté mode. Add in the sliced tofu and bamboo shoots. Stir to combine.
2 In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth. When the soup is simmering pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously. Allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes or until the soup is thickened.
3 While the soup is still simmering, stir the soup slowly in a circular motion and slowly pour the whisked eggs into the soup to create the egg ‘ribbons’. Once all the egg mixture has been poured in, stop stirring the soup and allow the eggs to set for 1 minute.
4 Adjust the soup to taste to your desired spice level. Add additional chili garlic sauce or sriracha hot sauce in 1 tsp increments to increase the spice level.
5 Garnish the soup with green onions and crispy chow mein noodles and enjoy!
What to Serve with Hot and Sour Soup?
Hot and sour soup is a great appetizer or side dish to serve along side a stir fry, such as Sesame Chicken, Spicy Crispy Chicken or Honey Garlic Beef served over a bowl of rice.
A great appetizer to pair with your soup are crispy and creamy Crab Rangoons. These are wontons filled with crab and cream cheese that are fried until golden brown. They are a must try!
FAQs Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup
Yes! Hot and sour soup is a healthy soup as it is packed with veggies, low in calories and low in fat. Authentic Chinese hot and sour soup is considered medicinal as it combines healing chicken broth, circulation improving fungus (mushrooms), and antioxidant packed ginger and vinegar.
To make vegetarian and/or vegan hot and sour soup use vegetable broth and omit the eggs in the soup.
Hot and sour soup is packed with mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots and egg ribbons. Egg drop soup is a clear broth with egg ribbons and often no other vegetables. Hot and sour soup is a vegetable soup without wontons, where as wonton soup may include some vegetables but also includes wontons.
Served as a main course hot and sour soup is a low calorie option. This recipe is for 8 main course serving sizes at only 175 calories per serving!
Served as a main course hot and sour soup is a low carb, keto friendly option. This recipe is for 8 main course serving sizes at only 28 grams of carbs per serving! For a lower carb recipe omit the cornstarch.
Looking for More Easy Soup Recipes?
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup – made at home is just as creamy and delicious as the classic Olive Garden soup! The best part is that it can be made in your kitchen in just 30 minutes!
- Wonton Soup – one of the most well known soups and one of my personal favorites! So quick and easy to make at home. Perfect for a quick lunch or side dish for your next dinner!
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup – creamy potato based soup filled with all the classic baked potato toppings – sour cream, cheese, bacon and green onions.
Enjoy!
– Sab
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, may earn me a small commission.
Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Soup Broth
- 8 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 3 tsp ginger, fresh grated or 1 1/2 tsp dried ginger powder
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced, cremini, white, baby bella or shiitake
- 5 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked and sliced, optional, see notes below
- 4 tbsp rice vinegar, or white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or rice vinegar, or white vinegar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce, or sriracha or hot sauce of choice
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp white pepper, or black pepper
Soup Add Ins
- 8 oz bamboo shoots, canned, drained, optional
- 8 oz tofu, firm, cut into small cubes or strips
- 4 tbsp cornstarch
- 4 tbsp water
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
Garnish (Optional)
- Green onions, thinly sliced
- Crispy Chow Mein Noodles
Instructions
- Place the dried wood ear mushrooms in a large bowl or measuring cup and cover with warm water. Leave the mushrooms to soak for 5 – 10 minutes, or until softened. Drain and rinse the mushrooms. Cut off the hard center piece of the mushroom and discard. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.
- Add all of the soup broth ingredients to the Instant Pot (or Electric Pressure Cooker). Stir until evenly combined. Put the lid on the pot, lock in place and turn the pressure valve to SEALING.
- Use the Manual Pressure cook button, or Soup button on the pressure cooker and set the time for 5 minutes. The pot will take about 5 – 10 minutes to come to pressure.
- When the cooking time is done allow the pot to Natural Release for 10 minutes (i.e. do not change any settings on the pot, release any pressure or try to remove the lid). When the pot reads L00:10, indicating it has been naturally releasing for 10 minutes, carefully turn the pressure valve to VENTING to release any remaining pressure. Once the pin on the lid has dropped carefully remove the lid from the pot.
- Turn the pot on sauté mode. Add in the sliced tofu and bamboo shoots. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water until smooth. When the soup is simmering pour in the cornstarch mixture and stir continuously. Allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes or until the soup is thickened.
- While the soup is still simmering, stir the soup slowly in a circular motion and slowly pour the whisked eggs into the soup to create the egg ‘ribbons’. Once all the egg mixture has been poured in, stop stirring the soup and allow the eggs to set for 1 minute.
- Adjust the soup to taste to your desired spice level. Add additional chili garlic sauce or sriracha hot sauce in 1 tsp increments to increase the spice level.
- Garnish the soup with green onions and crispy chow mein noodles and enjoy!
Chris
Sunday 27th of August 2023
This was absolutely superb; I had to make a couple changes partially due to what was available to me (using dried shiitake instead of wood ear) as well changing the black/white pepper for Szechuan peppercorns to get that proper mouth-numbing feeling. Absolutely delicious, personally I’d add a bit more chilli. I’d also maybe omit the tofu in favour of some other protein or maybe fry it first because it just kinda felt lost in the soup. But still a great recipe.
Chris
Wednesday 23rd of August 2023
Really looking forward to making this as hot & sour soup is one of my all time favourite dishes. Just wondering how well this keeps in the freezer? My wife doesn't like it so I'd be making it for myself only, and is more than I can eat in a single sitting...
Doug
Tuesday 28th of March 2023
This looks terrific. Two questions - how can I make this without investing in a pressure cooker? And, secondly, is there a way to lower the sodium count. My cardiologist wouldn't be pleased....
fedbysab
Tuesday 28th of March 2023
Hi Doug, you can make this recipe stove top by adding all of the soup broth ingredients to a pot and simmering stove top for about 8-10 minutes. Then follow the steps for adding in the soup add ins. For a lower sodium recipe you can use reduced sodium soy sauce. The nutrition information provided with the recipe is an estimate calculated from an online nutrition calculator and will vary depending on the brand of each ingredient used. Enjoy! :)
David A
Thursday 2nd of March 2023
Can this recipe be doubled in the instapot?
fedbysab
Tuesday 7th of March 2023
Yes, depending on the size of your Instant Pot you can double the recipe but be sure not go to above the MAX FILL line on your Instant Pot. The cooking time remains the same.
Susan
Thursday 2nd of March 2023
This by far the tastiest and easiest hot and sour soup I've ever made and I've tried many! Thanks for the recipe.