People on the ketogenic diet are weight conscious and are moving towards incorporating low carb foods as part of their lifestyles. Fortunately, with the increasing number of people on the keto diet, a lot of keto safe options are now popping up in the market.
Considering this, it’s the ideal time to move towards a keto diet. If you’re new to keto, you might think that having a lot of food options is good, but it also leads to confusion when deciding on what foods you need to add to your diet.
This is where we come in place because that’s precisely the kind of issues we’re looking to resolve. One such food you may want to add to your diet is the Chinese hot and sour soup.
But is hot and sour soup keto? Let’s dig in and resolve this query of yours.
What Is Hot And Sour Soup?
The traditional Chinese hot and sour soup— a popular soup that originated in the North part of China, from the Henan and Sichuan provinces. It’s famous for its perfectly balanced spicy and sour flavor.
Hot and sour soup is available in multiple blends, with a decedent assortment of spices. Unfortunately, due to this, it becomes challenging to get the authentic recipe for the perfect balance of hot and sour.
Well, the secret to this luscious flavor balance is simply the use of spicy pepper oils and sour vinegar (red rice based). It’s made with either a chicken broth, pork broth or with a meat-free broth, accompanied by vegetables and other spices.
Whether you’re fighting off the cold winter nights, or any illness, the soothing hot and sour soup will not leave your taste buds disappointed. It’s super low in calories and can be fairly nutritious at the same time.
Here is an insight into the nutritional content of the authentic Chinese hot and sour soup.
According to the USDA, a one cup serving of the hot and sour soup has the following nutrient composition:
| Nutrients | Amount per portion |
| Calories | 95 Cal |
| Total fats | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 51 mg |
| Sodium | 917 mg |
| Total carbs | 11 g |
| Dietary fibers | 1.2 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 6.3 g |
| Calcium | 46 g |
| Vitamin D | 0.2 mcg |
| Iron | 1.6 mg |
| Potassium | 134 mg |
Now that you have an understanding of the nutritional composition, let's assess whether is hot and sour soup keto friendly or not!
Is Hot and Sour Soup Keto Friendly?
The soup is rich in flavor and has a very decent nutrient composition, but is hot and sour soup keto friendly?
The traditional Chinese hot and sour soup is not unhealthy, per se. But it contains a lot of added sugar, starch, and other questionable ingredients with just the carbs amounting to over 11 grams -thus making it one of those foods that will kick you out of ketosis.
Furthermore, it also depends on how the restaurant model of the Chinese hot and sour soup was prepared and how the ingredients were added. This is a potential keto-risk and unless the restaurant claims that the soup is keto safe, you shouldn’t make it a part of your keto diet.
Alternatively, there is a way for you to enjoy a hot and sour soup while making it keto friendly. All you need is a keto friendly recipe (low carb) of the famous hot and sour soup, and you’ll be good to go.
With the right recipe, you will still enjoy the sizzling hot and sour flavor, along with all of the authentic spices. A keto friendly hot and sour soup will have as little as 3.3 grams of carbs, which is ideal for the keto diet.
How Many Calories In A Bowl Of Hot And Sour Soup?
One bowl (equating to 1.5 cups) of a traditional hot and sour soup contains over 143 calories, out of which the total carbs accumulate up to a whopping 16 grams. The sodium content is also high in the soup, containing 1376 mg, which is over 60% of the total daily value.
The sodium content takes up a major portion of the daily total allowed limit, so make sure you consider this factor when getting a Chinese takeout.
Don’t worry, with our Keto friendly hot and sour soup recipe, you wouldn’t have to worry about the excess carbs or any of the other nutrients.
Keto Friendly Hot and Sour Soup Recipe:
Now that you have an understanding of the basics of the traditional Chinese soup and its nutritional content, let’s move towards our Keto friendly version of the hot and sour soup.
Ingredients:
Soup Ingredients:
- Onion – 1x, cut in half
- Ginger – 1x (Thumb sized)
- Chicken – 1 lb. or 450 g
- Water – 70 FL oz (2 L)
- Dried shiitake mushrooms or Fresh shiitake mushrooms – 28 g (Dried), or 280 g (Fresh)
- Bamboo shoots – 6 oz or 180 g
- Red bell pepper – 1x
- Carrot – 1x
- Whole eggs – 2x (beaten)
Required Spices:
- Fresh chili pepper – 1x
- Fresh ginger – 1x (Either an inch piece or a 2.5 cm in size)
- Garlic clove – 1x
- Soy sauce – 4 tbsp (must be gluten free)
- Rice vinegar – 5 tbsp
- White pepper – 1 tsp
- Paprika powder – 2 tsp
- Locust bean/guar gum powder (keto safe thickening agents) – 4 tsp
- Salt – To taste
- Green onion – 1x
Steps To Make Keto Friendly Hot And Sour Soup:
- Prepare the dried shiitake mushrooms:
Before making the soup, you need to ensure the mushrooms are rehydrated. Soak them in warm water and let them sit for an hour. Depending on where you have sourced your mushrooms from, you might need to leave them in the water for longer. Check the packaging of the mushrooms for precise instructions.
OR
If you’re using fresh mushrooms instead of the dried ones, you only need to clean them. You do not have to hydrate the fresh ones.
- Prepare the chicken:
Grab a large pot and add approximately 2 liters of water. Next, add the chicken (1 lb.), onions, and ginger [make sure you follow the ingredient amounts precisely].
Let it boil for 30 to 45 minutes. The time required to bring the ingredients to boil may vary according to the pieces of the chicken. Once boiled, see if the chicken is tender. The reason why you need to make sure it is tender is that it should be easy for you to scrape it from the bones.
While waiting for the chicken to be boiled, you should move to step 3.
- Prepare the vegetables:
Grab the vegetables, including the mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, and bamboo shoots. Start by washing the vegetables thoroughly and then chop them down into small pieces. After chopping, set them aside.
Although optional, but if you’re looking for some added taste, you should fry the mushrooms in oil for a 4 to 5 minutes. You can use a pan or a wok for this purpose.
- Prepare the chili paste:
After preparing the vegetables, you need to prepare a fresh chili paste. Grab the chili peppers, garlic, and ginger. Clean them thoroughly and then chop them into small pieces. You need a mortar and pestle for this step.
Add the chopped chili, garlic, ginger, and some salt into the mortar. Pestle them together till it turns into a paste. Make sure there are no solid bits left and you get a smooth looking paste.
- Prepare the soup:
See if the chicken is boiled. Remove it from the pot along with the ginger and onions while leaving the chicken broth. If the flesh is tender, separate the flesh from the bones. Shred the chicken flesh into small pieces and add them back to the chicken broth. Do not add the ginger and onions back.
Next, grab the vegetables you chopped earlier and add them to the broth as well.
- Season the soup:
Get the chili paste you prepared earlier and add it to the broth along with soy sauce, white pepper, paprika powder and vinegar. Let the soup simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the eggs:
Get two eggs and beat them in a bowl. Afterwards, start stirring the soup in a circular motion and add the eggs into the soup while you’re stirring it. If you do not stir the soup while adding the eggs, they will get accumulated as one piece and will not be distributed uniformly.
After you have added them, let the soup stir for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.
- Prepare the thickening agent:
Add a small amount of thickening agent to the soup to get your desired consistency. Make sure the thickening agent you’re using is keto safe and does not add excess nutrients to the soup. Stir the soup for a couple more minutes while the thickening agent works its way through the soup.
- Serve and enjoy:
After getting your desired consistency, grab a bowl and serve the soup. Make sure you serve it immediately while it is hot. After you move the soup to a bowl, garnish it with some green onions, just make sure it is sliced.
That is all you need to do! Enjoy.
Nutrition facts of our Keto-safe hot and sour soup recipe:
The hot and sour soup you prepared using this recipe is perfectly safe for your ketogenic diet. It has way less carbs compared to the traditional hot and sour soups.
A one cup serving of this soup contains approximately 3.3 grams of net carbs, 8 grams of fat, and 14 grams of protein.
Keep in mind, the values are approximated and may vary depending on the quantity of the ingredients you use.
Wrapping Up:
The traditional hot and sour soup is famous for its luscious and unique blend of flavor. It is perfect for a cold winter night to keep you warm, and also rich in nutrients to keep you in a good shape.
But unfortunately, if prepared in the traditional way, it will not be safe for your ketogenic way. Instead, when prepared with the keto-safe recipe mentioned in this article, it will be perfectly fine for your ketogenic diet. In fact, you can even incorporate it in your diet plan without having to worry about being kicked out of ketosis.
To learn more about keto friendly foods, please click on one of the links below:
Frequently Asked Questions
What country is hot and sour soup from?
As most of you probably already guessed hot and sour soup originates from china. To be more specific it's a part of Beijing cuisine and Sichuan cuisine.
How do you eat hot and sour soup?
Hot and sour soup is generally served before meals. If you combine it with other appetizers it has the potential to become a whole feast.