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For a hearty fusion meal full of veggies and tofu try my Vegan Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen! The perfect Asian-inspired comfort food that’s ready in under 30 minutes!
Hot and sour soup, basically, the Asian version of chicken noodle soup. Soul-hugging and comforting. This hot and sour soup is Indo- Chinese version. Yes there’s a whole sub cuisine under Indian cuisine with Chinese and inspired dishes. To this simple soup, I add in some ramen noodles to cook with the soup to make for a hearty meal.
You will love how quick and easy this Asian soup comes together! It is ready in under 30 minutes. Perfect for last-minute dinners!
The heat in this vegan hot and sour soup comes from fresh hot green chili, fresh ginger, and a dash of white pepper. While not overly spicy, it is definitely on the hotter side but the spice level is easily adjustable. The signature sourness of the broth comes from adding some rice vinegar. Don’t worry, the vinegar does not come through too much and is balanced out perfectly by the remaining broth ingredients.
Some of the vinegar will evaporate during cooking so don’t worry if the vinegar dominates right in the beginning. It will taste more and more mellow as it cooks. However, for a bolder taste, add some more vinegar and soy sauce right at the end.
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Vegan Hot and Sour Soup with Ramen
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or mushroom broth
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 hot green chili
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, Or use 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, and 1 tsp molasses
- 1 tbsp vinegar, such as rice vinegar, or white vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- a good dash of white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar, or maple syrup
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 cup thinly shredded cabbage
- 1/2-1 cup chopped firm tofu, chopped small
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 or 4 green onions, chopped, keep most of the green parts for garnishing, and use the white and half of the green parts for the soup
- 3 oz ramen noodles
Instructions
- Add 5 cups of broth to a saucepan over medium heat.
- Mince your ginger, garlic, and chili together so that they get crushed together. Add that to the broth.
- Add all the sauces, and seasonings, the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, salt, peppers, and sugar to the broth.
- Once the mixture is starting to boil, add in your mushroom, carrots, tofu, and stir.
- Once the mixture is rapidly boiling, add in the cabbage.
- Mix in the cabbage, then carefully taste and adjust the flavor with the extra soy sauce, and vinegar if needed.
- Add in the white parts of green onions.
- While the soup is boiling, make your cornstarch slurry with 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed in 1/2 cup of the remaining broth.
- Toss in the ramen noodles , and once they have broken apart, and they seem like they're about to just be al dente, add in your cornstarch mixture, and mix well. Let the mixture start to boil again, and then take off heat. You don't want to cook the ramen noodles too much. You want them to be just about done, because they'll continue to cook in the hot broth.
- Take the pot off the heat, taste and adjust salt and flavor with soy sauce,salt, vinegar etc. garnish with some pepper flakes or black pepper , and the remaining parts of the green onion, and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- you could make this recipe with glass noodles or sweet potato noodles instead of ramen.
- a small amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder would make this taste extra authentic.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- vegetable broth or mushroom broth is the base of this soup
- garlic is a must but you can adapt the potency by reducing the amount
- chili, white pepper, and ginger are added for heat
- soy sauce is added to adjust the saltiness to the perfect level. You can use low sodium
- some sweetness to balance out the sour tangy notes – molasses and sugar or maple syrup
- the sour taste comes from adding a small amount of vinegar, such as rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- as for the veggies, I like adding carrots, mushrooms (for umami), and cabbage
- tofu is added in the traditional Chinese version but if you don’t like tofu, just skip
- the soup is thickened with cornstarch. You could use arrowroot instead
- green onions add some freshness to this dish
- As for the noodles, I go with a package of instant ramen noodles. Different kinds of noodles might have different cooking times and you might have to cook them separately
Tips & Substitutions:
- you could make this recipe with glass noodles or sweet potato noodles instead of ramen.
- a small amount of Sichuan peppercorn powder would make this taste extra authentic.
How to make Hot and Sour Soup:
Add 5 cups of broth to a saucepan over medium heat. Mince your ginger, garlic, and chili together so that they get crushed together. Add that to the broth.
Add all the sauces, and seasonings, the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar, salt, peppers, and sugar to the broth.
Once the mixture is starting to boil, then add in your mushroom, carrots, tofu, and mix.
Once the mixture is rapidly boiling, add in the cabbage. Mix in the cabbage, then carefully taste and adjust the flavor with the extra soy sauce, and vinegar if needed. Add in the white parts of green onions.
While the soup is boiling, make your cornstarch slurry with 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed in 1/2 cup of the remaining broth.
Mix in the ramen noodles, and once they have broken apart, and they seem like they’re about to just be al dente, add in your cornstarch mixture, and mix well.
Let the mixture start to boil again, and then take off the heat.
You don’t want to cook the ramen noodles until they’re like completely done. You want them to be just about done because they’ll continue to cook in the hot broth. Take the pot off the heat, garnish with some pepper flakes, and the remaining parts of the green onion, and serve immediately.
Make ahead tips:
If you want to make a big batch of hot and sour broth to freeze, I recommend freezing broth and veggies without the noodles. Add the noodles when you reheat the broth.
My hot and sour soup tastes too sour! How can I fix it?
Maybe you added too much vinegar or your vinegar was too strong. Instead of diluting the broth by adding more water, try adding some more sweetness. Either some maple syrup or, a splash of orange or apple juice.
Such a great recipe. Thanks for including it in your weekly menu email this week..
Yay! Glad you liked it.
Delicious!!
Yay!
Gosh – I eat one 3 OZ ramen cake by myself. I can’t imagine 4 people sharing one brick of ramen. Regardless this is so flavorful. Thank you!
I love ramen too!
“1 ramen noodles”??? Not quite sure about the measurements here! Thank you
Not sure what you mean, the recipe calls for 3 oz of ramen noodles.
I love this soup! It comes together quickly, and I use whatever veggies I have on hand with homemade broth. The flavors are perfectly balanced. Thank you, Richa. We love your recipes.
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
So easy and delicious. Exactly what we needed to cheer us up on a dreary Sunday night.
Yay!
Love all Vegan Richa recipes, this is no different. They are very responsive answering questions on their posts.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.