This is one of my favorite soups, with its deeply satisfying, umami flavors and warmth. This Hot and Sour Soup is a wonderful plant-based tonic for those chilly winter evenings. Ingredients are available from your local Asian grocers or online. If you have access to an H-Mart supermarket, you’ll find fresh lily buds, tree ears, a variety of fresh shiitakes, and varieties of tofu to choose among.
Vegan Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Prep Time
40 minutes
Total Time
70 Minutes
by Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Ingredients
- 12 fresh shiitake mushrooms, destemmed, or ½ cup dried shiitake
- 1.7-ounce package of dried day lily buds, or ½ cup fresh and salted fresh day lily buds
- 1 ½ cups dried wood or tree ears (auricularia)
- 1 ½ cups dried black fungus
- 4 cloves garlic, slivered
- 12 green onions, sliced greens and whites
- 2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
- 2 quarts veggie broth, no sodium
- 1 pound soft tofu, cut into 1 x ¾-inch rectangles
- ½ cup bamboo shoots, fresh if available, thinly sliced rectangles
- ¼ cup Chinese black vinegar (for a gluten-free option, substitute rice vinegar)
- 3/8 cups low-sodium soy sauce or Braggs Aminos
- 2-2 ½ teaspoons ground white or black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons date sugar or date paste
- 5 Tablespoons arrowroot
- 2 Tablespoons freshly ground flax seed, in 2/3 cup water
Garnishes
- Cilantro leaves
- Slivered scallion
- 3 Tablespoons freshly toasted white or black sesame seeds
Directions
Prep:
Date paste is a healthy alternative to refined sugars and syrups. Use it to sweeten your dishes or in lieu of marmalade. To make date paste, pit and roughly chop 1 cup of dates, any variety. Place in a small bowl, cover with water, heat in a microwave for 1-2 minutes to rehydrate. Cool. Purée in a food processor until very uniform and smooth. Set aside. Date paste stores well in the fridge for weeks.
- Rinse fungi and dried or fresh lily buds. Cover with boiling water and soak for 30 minutes. Rinse. Chop coarsely.
- In your soup pot, sauté garlic, scallion, and ginger in minimal broth for a few minutes.
- Add broth and bring to a simmer.
- Add veggies, fungi, lily buds, bamboo shoots, date paste, vinegar, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer 15-20 minutes to blend flavors.
- Add the arrowroot to a small bowl and mix in 1/3 cup of soup, stirring to create a smooth roux. Drizzle into the soup pot, stirring to dissolve. Cook for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Mix the flax with water in a small bowl. Drizzle in, stirring.
- Gently add tofu. Allow to simmer another 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings as needed.
- Serve in warmed bowls. Garnish with scallion, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.
