Originally posted this in my journal and thought maybe someone would like to see it here....

One of my favorite foods is hot and sour soup, but for years I struggled to make it at home because there are a lot of strange recipes out there. When I eventually figured it out, it was amazingly simple. So here's a relatively low-carb recipe that I'm going to make tonight...

3/4 lb. pork loin, sliced in thin strips
1-1/2 tbs sesame oil
48 oz. chicken stock/broth
1 block of extra firm tofu, diced
1/4 cup soy sauce (see note)
1/4 cup white vinegar (see note)
2 teaspoons finely ground white pepper (see note)
1 block of extra firm tofu, diced
3 or 4 shitake mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup sliced bamboo shoots
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbs water
3 Tbs cornstarch mixed with 3 tbs water
1/2 c diced green onion

--heat the sesame oil in a sute pan and lightly brown the pork
-- in a large pot bring the stock to a boil and add the soy sauce and pork, simmer 10 mins.
-- add the vinegar and white pepper

NOTE: at this point you have to taste the broth and adjust the soy sauce, pepper and vinegar to your liking. This is the critical step. Vinegar and pepper are notoriously inconsistent, so sometimes it takes twice as much of something to get the right combination of hot/sour.

-- add the tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots
-- simmer 10 mins. then stir in the corn starch mixture to thicken
-- beat the egg with 1 Tbs water (the water makes it easier to pour)
-- bring the soup to a medium boil, then pour the egg into it in a THIN stream.
-- wait 10-15 seconds, the stir slowly
-- reduce heat, add green onions, and serve.

This makes about 5 large bowls of soup. Figure about 10 carbs per serving. This can be modified many, many ways, but the key is to get the balance of white pepper and vinegar.

Stir-fry some napa cabbage, onions and hot peppers in sesame oil and you've got yourself a complete far east meal!

That 3 T. of cornstarch is going to throw your carb count off considerably ... the stuff I have is 14 carbs/tablespoon, making this recipe 46 carbs with just the cornstarch!

You may want to try guar gum, or one of the "not starch" thickeners, such as "Thicken Thin".

Otherwise, this sounds good, and I love Hot and Sour soup! You're right about there being some horrid recipes out there. I'll try this one when we have a cool day and soup feels right.

Thanks!

hmmm... my cornstarch says 7 grams of carb per Tbs. It's frustrating when such simple foods have such variable Nutrition Facts.

I absolutely love this soup, and can't wait to try this recipe Thanks for sharing--it's getting to be "soup time of year"!! (altho I eat soup year round)

1 lump or two?

When in doubt, I head to the fully detailed USDA database.

It seems that 1 Cup (16 Tablespoons) of standardized cornstarch physically weighs 128 grams (8 grams per Tbsp) and it's 91.3% carbs. So it's not possible really to have 14g carbs per Tablespoon. That 14g/Tbsp label is in error unless the stuff has been compressed into some kind of cake or brick?

Looks like the 7g net carbs per Tablespoon is the most reasonable measure to use, meaning there's 21g of carbs in this recipe from the cornstarch alone.

I'll see what the total comes up with when I get a chance to plug it into MasterCook (or Fitday would do). Very curious now.

All that being said, I LOVE Hot'n'Sour soup and I'm definitely going to give this a shot, with the probable addition of the (99% soluble fiber) Shirataki Konnyaku thread noodles! It's great to have a little Asian shopping area here.

One, according to the directions. Tofu is only added once.

Sorry for the confusion and the slow correction...should only list 1 block of tofu.

Maybe this could be made without the thickening of the corn starch. I would think the flavor would be so good you may not notice that it is thinner than restaurant bought.

Not quite on topic but PF Changs makes a great hot and sour soup that is only 2g carbs per cup.

10 seems a bit high.

This is absolutely wonderful. I did not add the cornstarch and it is to die for. I love the balance of hot and sour. I actually made the cauliflower fried rice recipe to go with the soup. Perfect meal. Thanks so much!!!

This sounds yummy--printing it to try the next time it turns cool. Did anyone ever get an exact carb count from FitDay or something?

Wow, happy someone bumped this. I LURV hot & sour soup!

Just what I was looking for...as the temps start to drop around here!

This is pretty close to my own recipe, except I use thick n thin instead of cornstarch, dried as well as oyster muchrooms and Black Vinegar. I usually pour a little bit of hot chili oil on top, just beofre serving. I found the Black Vinegar at a Chinese Market downtown.