Hot and Sour Soup - 16 oz (1 Can)

Kikkoman Hot and Sour Soup mix is my favorite, but this is my VERY close second favorite. It makes a lot more soup for a fraction of the price, but you might want to supplement your own dried wood ear mushroom. I love to add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar per cup of soup, plus some red pepper flakes, a beaten egg, and a handful of tofu. I DO usually add an extra teaspoon or two of soup mix per cup of water, otherwise it tastes a little watered down and not as thick as you might get from restaurant soup. All this aside, this is a delicious soup mix and a new pantry staple for me! Photo shows two cups of soup prepared as described above.

It works as what it is... A base to build from. Add whatever you like - more heat, more sour, more veggies. As a soup base it is great. Not to much heat or sour so you can adjust easily. I add chili paste, black fungus, daylily buds, tofu, egg, snow peas, mushrooms, and even leftover beef or pork with a splash of black vinegar to finish. Ramen toppings are great as well. Make it your own and you will appreciate it

Without any modifications this is a mildly flavored hot & sour soup, a little on the thin side for my tastes. But it does make a good base to work with. The broth is a nice darkish color, unless you whisk a raw egg into it, which will turn it almost white and not as appetizing to look at (again, personal taste). But let me share my tips for making this an absolute winner, no matter how you like your hot & sour soup: 1) Add extra cornstarch for a thicker broth. For simplicity, I just added a couple of heaping tablespoons right into the can and mixed it up. Once and done. 2) If you have veggies to add, such as julienned carrots or mushrooms, consider sauteing or boiling them a bit first to soften them up and bring out their flavors, before adding the soup mix. I find once the soup has thickened I prefer to take it right off the stove to cool, which doesn't allow a lot of cooking time for those veggies. 3) For more "sour", add a tablespoon of cider or red wine vinegar. For more "heat", add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes. I add both. Bring soup to a simmer. 4) Whisk an egg in a small bowl, then drizzle it straight into the simmering soup WITHOUT STIRRING or WHISKING. This will let the egg cook without turning your broth white. Let it simmer another minute or two until the egg is cooked. 5) I add in chopped tofu right at the end, just long enough to heat it thoroughly. Because tofu doesn't last long after you open a fresh container, I usually chop, bag individual portions and freeze at least half of it. The texture does get grainier when you freeze it (I buy soft, not firm), but it still works and also helps cool the soup faster to eating temperature! Top with chopped fresh green onions or chives to finish it off. Bottom line: a very good hot & sour soup mix with some simple modifications. I will be keeping this in my pantry from now on.

Extremely excellent value. A packet of hot and sour soup mix in the grocery is $3-5, but this tastes great and makes an endless supply of soup for $12. Funny, I can't find this at the asian market?

Very quick and tasty. A good base for customization with veggies, herbs, protein, etc. It’s not spicy at all and could be a little more sour but overall great.

I was excited to try this soup base. I love hot and sour soup, so I felt this could be a tasty broth to sip, when I just need something hot and tasty. And, to be fair, this can be that. But, the nutritional details don’t match the directions at all. So, all the information on the product, regarding carbs, sodium levels, etc, are going to be way, way off. The nutritional label says the can has 90 servings, and a serving is ONE TEASPOON of the soup powder. And all nutritional info is presumably based on that. However, the directions for making a serving read: one cup of water, and FOUR teaspoons of powder. So, is one cup of water supposed to make four servings? No. I made it according to directions, and it tasted weak and thin. I added one more teaspoon and it was good. I embellished it with extra white pepper, extra vinegar, and a tablespoon of dried ramen toppings, and it is what I was wanting. Tasty and flavorful. So, as a base to make a good soup, understanding that you will need to doctor it up,, this is pretty good. The serving size is crazy though. I need 2 cups to feel satisfied. I took a picture of my little mug, half-filled with what they call a serving, but, I’m still not mad that I bought this. Just use it in your own way, ignore their measurements and definitely don’t count on the nutritional numbers they give!

Doesn't taste anything like Hot & Sour soup is supposed to taste. Four large spoons gives one cup of very bland beef bouillon. Nothing useful. I wanted t return, and am not allowed to.

I've been using this for years but never wrote a review - until now. Look - this stuff is GREAT all by itself. Five stars all around, but I use it as a base for other things so just hear me out: I use a 16oz styrofoam cup at work, put in a crushed Wyler's chicken bouillon cube, add a heaping spoonful of this Hot and Sour Soup mix, and then I add any other Cup-a-soup packet (or equivalent) that I want: tomato soup, chicken noodle, minestrone...and it ROCKS. It's a filler, and it's a good one. It turns a cup-a-soup into two-cups-a-soup :) I love the little, dehydrated veggies it comes with for a little extra "chew". You can mix this with SO many things...and I even throw an extra apple cider vinegar (for health benefits) into my mix to make it a little extra sour. Try it! Again: love this stuff, and I'm very thankful for the manufacturer to make such a delicious product :)

I’m a big fan of hot and sour soup in all of its variations, from Chinese to Moslem to the Vietnamese version based on tamarind and pineapple. This mix makes a very good base for a Chinese classic, though it’s better with a few additions. When I first opened the tin and took a deep sniff of the mix I was initially doubtful this would be any good, but I’m vey happy to have been proven wrong. To turn it from good to great I will usually rehydrate 3 or 4 pieces of black fungus or wood ear mushrooms then slice them into slivers and add to the soup. I like to throw in at least one form of fresh vegetable like carrot slivers, or snow peas, or sliced fresh mushrooms or the like, and bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce it, add some tofu cubes, then add a beaten egg while stirring rapidly. Finally a splash of soy sauce, a sprinkle of white pepper, and a generous shot of white or rice vinegar and it’s ready to serve. Elapsed time 10 - 15 minutes. The mix provides a great value for the money, especially compared to our local restaurants which charge upwards of $12-13 for medium sized bowl, and a significant time savings over trying to make it from scratch (I use Barbara Tropp’s Moslem Hot and Sour Soup recipe from The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking). It’s perfect for when you’re craving a hot, sour, comforting bowl of soup.

Esta dique sopa es horrenda. Desabrida. Nada que ver con una Hot and Sour. Ni gasten!

Pricey for a powder but it does the job! Dried Mushrooms are what makes this work, Bamboo Shoots shreded pork and/or chicken (Turkey), some egg drops garlic galic garlic and hot peppers and a few dashes of white vinegar make for a wondeful filling winter soup. In lieu of corn starch the falvour profile and the thickening agent make for an easy crockpot /pressure cooker soup in mere minutes.

The Good: It is good for a powdered Hot and Sour. The front of the can says 30 cups and the instructions are for that. On the serving prep the suggestion (Chef tip as labeled) is for 22 cups, which means one more teaspoon (20gm rather than 15gm per cup), which might address some reviewers concerns and I agree it improves the result. The OK: Although this is great for soup powder for those busy tired evenings or a sick day, the price is a bit too expensive (I admit the convenience and quick delivery sold me anyways).

Excellent!