This easy vegetarian hot and sour soup is packed with tons of vegetables, lightly seasoned and makes the perfect light meal of a cold day.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 25 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 38 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: Indo-Chinese

Ingredients

  • 1 & ½ tablespoons oil (use any oil of choice)
  • 1 & ½ inch ginger (minced)
  • 2 & ½ teaspoon garlic (minced)
  • 2 green chilies (finely chopped)
  • 1 large carrot (around 130 grams, finely chopped)
  • ½ head green cabbage (180 grams, finely chopped)
  • 8-10 green beans (65 grams, finely chopped)
  • 1 medium green pepper (60 grams, finely chopped)
  • 1 medium red pepper (60 grams, finely chopped)
  • 6 cups water (around 1.4 liters)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 & ½ tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ¼-½ teaspoon black pepper (adjust to taste)
  • 3 teaspoons cornstarch (mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
  • green onions (chopped, to garnish)

Method

  1. One important thing before you start making this soup is to prep all your vegetables beforehand. Chop everything and keep it ready to go. Heat oil in a wok on medium heat. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic and chilies. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the ginger and garlic start changing color.
  2. Now, add all the finely chopped vegetables: carrots, cabbage, green beans, green pepper, and red pepper. Cook the vegetables on medium-high heat for around 2 minutes or so. They need to remain crunchy, so do not overcook them.
  3. Then add 6 cups of water to the wok followed by the seasonings: soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and black pepper. Stir and let the soup boil for 5 minutes.
  4. Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing together 3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir and add it to the boiling soup. Let the soup boil for 2 more minutes until it thickens. This soup does not get very thick, if you prefer a thicker consistency, add more of the cornstarch.
  5. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve!

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.