Description
This Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup is a flavorful and comforting dish, perfect for warming up any day. Combining tangy rice vinegar, spicy chili sauce, savory soy sauces, and umami-rich shiitake mushrooms with tender tofu and fresh aromatics, this soup simmers slowly to develop deep, balanced flavors. It’s an easy, hands-off recipe ideal for slow cooking enthusiasts and serves six hearty portions.
Ingredients
Scale
Slow Cook
- 7 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 6 oz dried shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated and sliced)
- 8 oz bamboo shoots
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar (or more to taste)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (reduced-sodium)
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (minced)
- 1 teaspoon red chili sauce
- 8 ounces firm tofu (pressed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 4 green onions (thinly sliced)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (or to taste)
Additional Ingredients
- 2 large eggs (well whisked – but not foamy)
- 1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: Add all the ingredients from the slow cook section—including chicken broth, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, vinegars, soy sauces, garlic, ginger, red chili sauce, tofu, green onions, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper—to the slow cooker. Stir everything together thoroughly to combine the flavors.
- Cook: Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 to 8 hours, or choose the high setting and cook for 3 to 4 hours. This slow cooking process allows the ingredients to meld together and develop a rich, deep flavor.
- Dissolve Cornstarch: In a separate measuring cup, whisk the 1/4 cup of cornstarch into the 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth until the cornstarch is fully dissolved, creating a smooth slurry. This mixture will be used to thicken the soup.
- Thicken Soup: About thirty minutes before the soup finishes cooking, stir the cornstarch slurry into the slow cooker and mix well. This will thicken the soup to a luscious consistency.
- Drizzle Egg: Slowly drizzle the well-whisked eggs into the hot soup while stirring gently to create delicate egg ribbons throughout the soup.
- Serve: Once the eggs are incorporated and cooked through, garnish the soup with additional thinly sliced green onions if desired and serve hot for a comforting meal.
Notes
- You can substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth to make the soup vegetarian.
- Adjust the amount of rice vinegar and chili sauce depending on your preferred level of sourness and heat.
- Ensure tofu is pressed well to avoid excess water diluting the soup.
- For a gluten-free version, use tamari or a gluten-free soy sauce alternative.
- Keep stirring gently when adding the egg to create the desired egg ribbons without scrambling.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours (slow cooker low) or 3 to 4 hours (slow cooker high)
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup, hot and sour soup, slow cooker recipe, tofu soup, Asian soup, comfort food
