This vegan hot & sour soup is so full of flavor and comfort! Pulled young green jackfruit steps in as a meat substitute with great texture!
Vegan Hot & Sour Soup
What you’ll need:
- vegetable oil
- young green jackfruit
- extra firm tofu
- bamboo shoots
- tamari (or soy sauce)
- chili flakes
- cane sugar
- white pepper (can use black pepper if needed)
- salt
- dried shiitake mushrooms
- vegetable broth (can be the water the mushrooms soaked in)
- arrowroot starch (or corn starch)
- water (or cold broth)
- kala namak (black salt for “eggy” flavor), optional
- white vinegar
- Green onion to garnish, optional
How to Make this Vegan Hot & Sour Soup:
*Before getting started take a look at the notes below for some helpful tips regarding the preparation and ingredients for this vegan hot and sour soup.
STEP 1: START COOKING THE JACKFRUIT, TOFU, AND BAMBOO
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shredded jackfruit, thinly sliced tofu, and thinly sliced bamboo shoots. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
STEP 2: ADD THE SEASONINGS
Add tamari or soy sauce, chili flakes, sugar, white pepper, and salt. (You can start with ½ tsp white pepper and increase the spice later if desired. Some traditional recipes suggest adding white pepper only at the end of the cooking time so the taste doesn’t turn bitter. I’ve never detected a bitter taste but feel free to add the pepper when you add the vinegar to the soup in the last step). Cook for 5 minutes.
STEP 3: ADD THE SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS
Add thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. Stir.
STEP 4: ADD THE BROTH AND SIMMER
Add broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
STEP 5: MAKE THE SLURRY AND THICKEN THE SOUP
Make the slurry by combining starch with ¼ cup of cool water or broth (don’t use hot broth from the soup as it will make the starch clump). Whisk the starch into the liquid until it is fully combined. Slowly stream the starchy water into the soup while stirring. You want to stir the starch in right away because it has a tendency to clump if it’s not dispersed through the soup quickly enough. Continue to cook and thicken the soup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
STEP 6: ADD THE BLACK SALT AND VINEGAR
Add the black salt, if using, for the eggy flavor. Then stir in the vinegar. If the vinegar is added too early it will boil off and the sour taste will be lost so don’t cook the soup too much longer now. Carefully taste your soup and add more vinegar if desired and more white pepper for desired heat.
STEP 7: GARNISH, SERVE, AND ENJOY!
To serve, garnish with sliced green onion, more chili flakes, and a drizzle of chili oil if desired!
Notes:
HOW TO PREPARE DRIED SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS:
If using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak them in advance according to the package instructions. They can be soaked overnight in cold water or can often be quickly soaked in hot water according to the package. Reserve the water the mushrooms soaked in and use it in the soup! If some of the stems are a little hard after soaking you can omit them from the soup if you wish (I usually just slice them thin and add them in).
WHICH TYPE OF JACKFRUIT TO CHOOSE:
For the jackfruit, make sure the can you have is young green jackfruit in brine not sweet jackfruit in syrup. To prepare the jackfruit, I pull the pieces apart with my hands but you can also use a food processor to gently shred the jackfruit.
WHAT TO USE INSTEAD OF DRIED SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS:
Feel free to substitute some of the dried shiitake mushrooms for woodear or black fungus mushrooms. You can also use fresh shiitake if you don’t have dried.
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 283 g young green jackfruit - shredded
- 175 g extra firm tofu - sliced thin
- 270 g bamboo shoots - sliced thin (1 - 1 ½ cup)
- 2 tbsp tamari - or soy sauce
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp cane sugar
- ½ - 1 tsp white pepper - can use black pepper if needed*
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 cups dried shiitake mushrooms - soaked & thinly sliced (see notes)*
- 8 cups vegetable broth - 2-3 cups can be the water the mushrooms soaked in
- ⅓ cup arrowroot starch - or corn starch
- ¼ cup water - or cold broth
- ¼ tsp kala namak - black salt for “eggy” flavor, optional
- ¼ cup - ½ cup white vinegar
- Green onion to garnish - optional
Instructions
- *Before getting started take a look at the notes below for some helpful tips regarding the preparation and ingredients for this vegan hot and sour soup.
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shredded jackfruit, thinly sliced tofu, and thinly sliced bamboo shoots. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add tamari or soy sauce, chili flakes, sugar, white pepper, and salt. (You can start with ½ tsp white pepper and increase the spice later if desired. Some traditional recipes suggest adding white pepper only at the end of the cooking time so the taste doesn't turn bitter. I've never detected a bitter taste but feel free to add the pepper when you add the vinegar to the soup in the last step). Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms. Stir.
- Add broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Make the slurry by combining starch with ¼ cup of cool water or broth (don’t use hot broth from the soup as it will make the starch clump). Whisk the starch into the liquid until it is fully combined. Slowly stream the starchy water into the soup while stirring. You want to stir the starch in right away because it has a tendency to clump if it’s not dispersed through the soup quickly enough. Continue to cook and thicken the soup for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the black salt, if using, for the eggy flavor. Then stir in the vinegar. If the vinegar is added too early it will boil off and the sour taste will be lost so don’t cook the soup too much longer now. Carefully taste your soup and add more vinegar if desired and more white pepper for desired heat.
- To serve, garnish with sliced green onion, more chili flakes, and a drizzle of chili oil if desired!
Notes
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Hi I’m Kathryn! An actress and the recipe creator behind Tasty, Thrifty, Timely. My husband Bryan is behind-the-scenes of our photos and videos. We hope you enjoy our easy recipes that make vegan cooking at home… Tasty, Thrifty, and Timely! Follow Kathryn on Instagram | Visit the Tasty Thrifty Timely Blog.
