A quick and easy restaurant-style Hot and Sour Soup Instant Pot Recipe that’s better than any take-out! It’s totally versatile and can be simply customized to your own tastes.
Today’s soup recipe is just one of many that I’ve been experimenting with in the Instant Pot. Did you know there’s a BURN warning on the Instant Pot?? After experiencing it firsthand….well, I now know you MUST have enough liquid in the pot to avoid DISASTER. Anyway, we’re all about TESTED easy recipes here, so it’s all good.
Really, this is my kind of soup recipe – no frying or blending…just throw all the ingredients into an Instant Pot and set the time. Just add cornstarch (or not) to thicken the soup at the end and warm the tofu using the heat from the soup. So in just minutes you can ladle yourself a steaming and delicious bowl of Hot and Sour soup.
And there’s good news, folks! Instant Pot hot and sour soup is totally easy to make. And the bonus of making it at home is that it’s also super simple to customize to your own taste. Love the heat? Add in more chili garlic sauce. Want it extra sour? Add in more vinegar. Vegetarian style? Make it following the recipe with tofu. Total meat lover? Just add in some cooked pork.
Hot and Sour Soup Ingredients
- Broth – I am a huge fan of Better than Bouillon to save space and packaging. If you’re salt sensitive, use low-sodium broth.
- Mushrooms – Shitake (highly recommended), Baby Bella, white button…slice up and add your favorite.
- Green Onions (scallions) – to slice and flavor the soup. Please…reserve a tablespoon or two for garnish.
- Bamboo Shoots – canned shoots are fantastic in this soup. If you don’t care for them leave them out. Be sure to drain them before using.
- Soy Sauce – either regular or low-sodium are fine. If using regular soy sauce, you might want to wait until serving before adding any salt to the soup.
- Vinegar – rice and red wine vinegar both have a mild sour flavors. If you’re using white vinegar, add half the amount to start to see how sour your soup is. You can always add a little more later.
- Chili Garlic Sauce – ah…the gold standard of heat! In our opinion, there’s not much garlic flavor but it is HOT! Store the open jar in the fridge and it will keep for months!
- Ginger – blends easily into the soup and doesn’t overpower.
- Toasted Sesame Oil – Yes…swirl this into every asian dish you make! So much flavor, so little effort.
- Tofu – soaks up the flavor of the soup like a sponge and adds a protein boost.
How To Make Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup:
To make this soup…
- Make your cornstarch slurry. Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup water to make a slurry. Set aside
- Drop all of the ingredients except the cornstarch, tofu, sesame oil and half the green onions, into your Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid, turn the vent to “sealing”, and set to High pressure and 5 minutes of cooking time. When cook time is done, do an instant release by turning the vent to “venting” and allow all of the steam to vent out. When the pressure valve drops, carefully open the lid. Press the saute button and set to High. Let the soup come to a boil. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the soup until it starts to thicken.
- Season your soup. Stir in the tofu, sesame oil and remaining green onions. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Add more vinegar or chili paste as desired.
- Serve. Ladle out your hot soup and garnish with more green onions and crunchy wonton strips.
What to serve with Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup:
Here are a few favorites that pair nicely with Hot and Sour Soup.
- Easy Fried Rice
- Pork Ponzu Fried Rice
- Sheet Pan Sesame Chicken
- Easy Honey Sesame Chicken
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef & Broccoli
Instant Pot Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
- 7 cups vegetable broth I used Vegetable Better Than Bouillon,
- 1 pound baby bella mushrooms stemmed and sliced
- 4 stalks green onion sliced thin, divided
- 16 ounces bamboo shoots canned, drained
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsps chili garlic sauce
- 2 tsps ground ginger
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 8 ounces firm tofu cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and stir to make a slurry. Set aside.
- Place vegetable broth, mushrooms, 1/2 the green onions, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, vinegar, chili garlic sauce, ginger, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot. Stir.
- Secure the lid, then turn pressure release valve to "sealing". Set to Pressure Cook on High and use manual (+/-) buttons to set time to 5 minutes. When cook time is complete, carefully turn pressure valve to "venting" for a quick release. Once pressure valve has dropped, remove lid and hit Cancel button. Press Saute button and adjust to High setting. Liquid will quickly start to bubble.
- Stir cornstarch slurry into bubbling soup for 1 to 2 minutes until soup is thickened. Hit Keep Warm button. Gently stir in tofu, sesame oil and remaining green onions for 1 minute until warmed.
- Serve topped with additional green onion slices and crispy wonton strips (optional).
Chef Tips
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
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Hi Sean, I love it when readers play around with recipe ingredients to make it their own. Your adjustments sound delicious:)
Excellent recipe. I doubled the Rice Vinegar and Red Wine Vinegar to get it taste like our local restaurant. Also cut the bamboo shoots in half and added a little more tofu.