Description
It's official, with 10 days until I have to move apartments, I've used up all the packets of shirataki noodles in my pantry cupboard. The last packet went into thickening this tasty, and not the least bit authentic, hot and sour soup. It's been many, many years since I've had a hot and sour soup, and I've got to be honest, I don't remember quite what it tastes like. Before making this recipe, I browsed a number of recipes online and found a great deal of variation. Some had pretty common ingredients, others had things I had never heard of. Of course, all contained higher carb items I'd need to omit or replace. Apart from the fancy mushrooms and bamboo shoots, which are actually readily available in my supermarket, this version is made up of ingredients I had on hand. Most recipes I saw called for a broth of some sort, but knowing that most of the ingredients I would be using already contained a lot of sodium, I opted for a little miso, nutritional yeast, and onion powder instead. It's a sodium-rich soup nonetheless. If you have a low-sodium tamari or soy sauce, you may be able to use veggie broth in place of the water without it being overly salty, but be aware that many store-bought broths and bouillon cubes can be high in carbs. Feel free to use whatever mushrooms you prefer and adapt the recipe to your tastes. I have provided the macros for the broth without any of the "other ingredients" in case you'd like to make significant adaptations to the recipe. For those of you who've had an authentic hot and sour soup recently, am I even close? Either way, please enjoy my creation!
For those who would like to add their own "filling" ingredients, the macros and calories for just the full recipe of the broth are: 335 calories | 6.5g protein | 28g fat | 5.5g net carbs. The recipe makes about 3 cups (700ml) of broth.
Equipment & Storage:
| You will need — a blender with a soup function (soup function optional - see note)
| Store — refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
Other Ingredients:
Broth Ingredients:
Instructions
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Put the mushrooms and white part of the green onion in a medium-sized saucepan with the ¼ cup (60ml) of water. Cover with a well-fitted lid and set to medium heat. Check and mix occasionally, and add a splash of water if needed to keep the pan from drying out.
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Meanwhile, put all broth ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Start with 1½ cups (360ml) of water. You can add more later if the soup is too rich. If you have one, you can use the soup function on your blender to make it nice and hot. If not, simply blend the mixture to smooth.
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Add the broth and the bamboo shoots to the pan with the mushrooms.
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Bring to a simmer on medium heat, reduce to low, re-cover, and simmer for at least 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and check the flavor. If you find it too rich for your tastes, add some additional water.
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Gently add the tofu to the soup and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Or, if you'd enjoy the cool raw tofu juxtaposed with the hot spicy broth, divide it between 4 bowls.
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Divide the soup, or soup broth, between 4 bowls, sprinkle with the remaining chopped green onion, and enjoy hot. With the tofu, you should have about 1¼ cups (300g) per bowl. Without the tofu, you should have a little under 1 cup (about 225g) per bowl.
Additional optional toppings: sesame seeds, crushed red pepper flakes, and nori or dulse flakes.
Used to Make This Recipe
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Nutrition Facts
Servings 4
Serving Size about 1¼ cups (300g)
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 140kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 8.5g14%
- Total Carbohydrate 14.5g5%
- Dietary Fiber 4.5g18%
- Protein 9g18%
- Allulose 6g
- Net Carbs 4g
* Total Carbs - (Fiber + Allulose + Sugar Alcohols) = Net Carbs
Notes
- I made the soup using the soup function on my blender, but I see no reason why you couldn't blend it until smooth and then heat it up afterwards.
- There is no NCCDB or USDA entry for wood ear mushrooms, so I calculated the macros with brown mushrooms.
- White pepper is spicier than black pepper, and what I've seen in most hot and sour soup recipes. Use whatever you have available to you.
- Shirataki noodles are also called konjac noodles and may be found cheaply in an Asian supermarket.
