Low FODMAP Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup is the perfect combination of vegetable broth, loads of low FODMAP mushrooms with satisfying chewy texture, bits of high protein tofu, and crunchy bamboo shoots. The flavor? That crave-able contrast and combo of hot and sour.
How Is This Soup Low FODMAP?
The Monash University smartphone app is packed with all kinds of info that will set you free! Did you think all mushrooms were high FODMAP? Not so! For this recipe we are using a combination of dried shiitake mushrooms and both black and white dried fungus, which is a specialty ingredient frequently found in Chinese food. (You can find it in Asian stores and online).
The fungus has a very generous low fodmap serving size of 70 g, the dried shiitake have a very small low FODMAP serving size of 7 g in their dried state. Always remember when you’re looking at a recipe that the amount called for is going to be divided by the serving sizes and in some cases, not even the entire weight will be consumed. For instance, with the dried shiitake mushrooms you will be trimming away some of the hard stem and discarding after weighing and rehydrating.
The low FODMAP diet is intricately connected with serving size.
Read our article, What Is A Low FODMAP Serving Size?
How Much Soup Does This Recipe Make?
Please note that we recommend that this soup be divided into eight servings. Many people will ask how much each serving is in volume. The reason I have not given an exact amount is because the ultimate soup volume will vary. The dried ingredients rehydrate differently every time to create various volumes, and the way they absorb the stock will also vary time to time.
Just do your best to create eight servings, which will be low FODMAP.
Let’s Talk Hot Peppers
Spicy peppers contain capsaicin, which can be a gut irritant for some. It is not a FODMAP issue, but it can cause digestive distress. Certainly, know your tolerances when it comes to hot and spicy food – this is hot and sour soup after all. It is all about the balance of the spicy with the sour so there will be a fair amount of heat.
I go to a local Asian store to pick up my mushrooms and bamboo shoots and while I’m there I pick up small red chili peppers as well. They tend to have small Thai red chili peppers, which work wonderfully. Depending on what is available where you live you can experiment. If no small red chilies are available, you can also use a little bit of dried red pepper flakes as directed in the recipe. Those can be found in any supermarket.
Read our article, All About Chile, Chili & Chilli & The Low FODMAP Diet.
Balance The Flavor
The success of this soup depends on the flavor balance. You have the spicy heat from the hot peppers and white pepper, you have some sugar for sweetness, the sour comes from the vinegar, and even though there is soy sauce, you do occasionally need to add salt. And then there is the umami from the mushrooms.
We love Gourmend Organic Vegetable Broth because it has a very balanced flavor and is not overly salted. The vegetable broth you use, be it homemade or purchased, is going to greatly affect the way you ultimately need to season this soup.
Don’t be afraid to add a little more of this or that and it is imperative that you taste the soup and balance the final flavor at the end. Every time I make this soup it does demand a little tweaking, and it is never the same. That’s why I suggest you have a little extra of everything on hand.
Making Vegetarian Hot & Sour Soup
For the Soup: Place the wood ears in one heatproof bowl, and the shiitake in another. Cover each with boiling water. (I place a saucer on top of the shiitake to keep them submerged; the saucer is slightly smaller than the bowl). Allow to sit for 1 hour.
Drain both. (You can reserve the shiitake soaking water if you would like to use for another use; no guarantee on FODMAP content).
Chop the wood ear fungus into bit-sized pieces. Trim and remove any tough shiitake stems and discard. Thinly slice the shiitake mushroom caps.
Make sure your tofu is in bite-sized pieces.
Place the vegetable broth in a large stock pot. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and chopped chile or ½ teaspoon chile flakes. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the tofu, bamboo shoots, rehydrated wood ears and shiitake.
Here is what the sliced bamboo shoot strips look like, drained.
Simmer soup for a few minutes, then stir in vinegar. Taste and add salt, if needed.
This is your opportunity to balance the flavors. Need more heat? More sweet? More sour? Simple season to your liking.
For the Thickener & Garnish: Combine the water and cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir your simmering soup so that it is swirling, then drizzle in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer for another 30 seconds to thicken. Stir again to create that swirl and drizzle in the beaten egg. It will cook almost instantly. Soup is ready to serve with scallion green garnish.
FODMAP Information
All recipes are based upon Monash University & FODMAP Friendly science at time of initial publication.
- Eggs: Eggs are high in protein and do not contain carbohydrates, according to Monash University.
- Oil: All pure oils are fats and contain no carbohydrates, therefore they contain no FODMAPs.
- Scallions: Monash University lab testing found no FODMAPs detected in scallion greens; they suggest a 75 g serving size. FODMAP Friendly has also lab tested scallions: their recommended serving size for the green parts is 16 g, with a max low FODMAP serving of 161 g. They have also tested the bulb and it is low FODMAP in 19 g portions, which is about 2 tablespoons finely chopped.
- Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is ¼ cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine. As the fructose is never in excess of the glucose, white sugar will never be high FODMAP, even in large amounts.
- Tofu: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested various kinds of tofu. Both have found silken tofu to be high in FODMAPs, particularly fructans and GOS. Monash University says that both firm and plain tofu (the US equivalent of extra firm and firm) have low FODMAP servings. 160 g of drained for the firm and 170 g for the plain. FODMAP Friendly gives firm tofu a “Pass” at 100 g.
- Vinegar: Several vinegars have been lab tested by both Monash and FODMAP Friendly. From Monash: Apple cider vinegar is low FODMAP at 2 Australian tablespoons or 42 g; Balsamic vinegar is low FODMAP at 1 Australian tablespoons or 21 g; Malt vinegar contains no FODMAPs; Rice wine vinegar is low FODMAP at 2 Australian tablespoons or 42 g. From FODMAP Friendly: Balsamic gets a “Pass” at 2.5 tablespoons or 42 ml. Apple cider vinegar gets a “Pass” at 1 tablespoon or 14 g (don’t ask me why one is in milliliters and the other in grams).
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. Foods will be retested from time to time; in the case of raw ingredients, such as fruits and vegetables, results may vary. All lab tested results are valid and represent a snapshot in time. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.
Low FODMAP Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup
Low FODMAP Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup is the perfect combination of vegetable broth, loads of low FODMAP mushrooms with satisfying chewy texture, bits of high protein tofu, and crunchy bamboo shoots. The flavor? That crave-able contrast and combo of hot and sour.
Ingredients:
Soup:
- 2/3- ounce (19 g) dried wood ear fungus
- ¾- ounce (20 g) dried shiitake mushrooms
- Boiling Water
- 8 cups (2 L) low FODMAP vegetable broth, homemade, or Gourmend Organic Vegetable Broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons gluten-free low sodium soy sauce, such as San-J
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper preferable freshly ground
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar or to taste
- 1 fresh small red chile pepper, deseeded and chopped, optional; or ½ teaspoon dried red chile flakes, or to taste
- 8- ounces (225 g) firm tofu, drained, cut into cubes or small bite-sized pieces
- 5- ounces (140 g) prepared bamboo shoots; canned or packaged, sliced strips, drained
- ¼ cup (60 ml) cup white vinegar, or to taste
- Kosher salt to taste
Thickener & Garnish
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- ¼ (32 g) cup cornstarch
- 1 large egg well beaten
- ¼ cup (16 g) chopped scallion greens
Preparation:
-
For the Soup: Place the wood ears in one heatproof bowl, and the shiitake in another. Cover each with boiling water. (I place a saucer on top of the shiitake to keep them submerged; the saucer is slightly smaller than the bowl). Allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain both. (You can reserve the shiitake soaking water if you would like to use for another use; no guarantee on FODMAP content). Chop the wood ear fungus into bit-sized pieces. Trim and remove any tough shiitake stems and discard. Thinly slice the shiitake mushroom caps.
-
Place the vegetable broth in a large stock pot. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, ¼ teaspoon sugar, and chopped chile or ½ teaspoon chile flakes. Bring to a simmer, then stir in the tofu, bamboo shoots, rehydrated wood ears and shiitake. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in vinegar. Taste and add salt, if needed.
-
This is your opportunity to balance the flavors. Need more heat? More sweet? More sour? Simple season to your liking.
-
For the Thickener & Garnish: Combine the water and cornstarch to make a slurry. Stir your simmering soup so that it is swirling, then drizzle in the cornstarch slurry. Simmer for another 30 seconds to thicken. Stir again to create that swirl and drizzle in the beaten egg. It will cook almost instantly. Soup is ready to serve with scallion green garnish.
Notes:
FODMAP Information
All recipes are based upon Monash University & FODMAP Friendly science at time of initial publication.
• Eggs: Eggs are high in protein and do not contain carbohydrates, according to Monash University. • Oil: All pure oils are fats and contain no carbohydrates, therefore they contain no FODMAPs.
• Scallions: Monash University lab testing found no FODMAPs detected in scallion greens; they suggest a 75 g serving size. FODMAP Friendly has also lab tested scallions: their recommended serving size for the green parts is 16 g, with a max low FODMAP serving of 161 g. They have also tested the bulb and it is low FODMAP in 19 g portions, which is about 2 tablespoons finely chopped.
• Sugar: Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have both lab tested white, granulated sugar. Monash states that a Green Light low FODMAP serving size of white sugar is ¼ cup (50 g). FODMAP Friendly simply states that they have tested 1 tablespoon and that it is low FODMAP. Regular granulated white sugar is sucrose, which is a disaccharide made up of equal parts glucose and fructose. Sucrose is broken down and absorbed efficiently in the small intestine. As the fructose is never in excess of the glucose, white sugar will never be high FODMAP, even in large amounts.
• Tofu: Both Monash University and FODMAP Friendly have lab tested various kinds of tofu. Both have found silken tofu to be high in FODMAPs, particularly fructans and GOS. Monash University says that both firm and plain tofu (the US equivalent of extra firm and firm) have low FODMAP servings. 160 g of drained for the firm and 170 g for the plain. FODMAP Friendly gives firm tofu a “Pass” at 100 g.
• Vinegar: Several vinegars have been lab tested by both Monash and FODMAP Friendly. From Monash: Apple cider vinegar is low FODMAP at 2 Australian tablespoons or 42 g; Balsamic vinegar is low FODMAP at 1 Australian tablespoons or 21 g; Malt vinegar contains no FODMAPs; Rice wine vinegar is low FODMAP at 2 Australian tablespoons or 42 g. From FODMAP Friendly: Balsamic gets a “Pass” at 2.5 tablespoons or 42 ml. Apple cider vinegar gets a “Pass” at 1 tablespoon or 14 g (don’t ask me why one is in milliliters and the other in grams).
Please always refer to the Monash University & FODMAP Friendly smartphone apps for the most up-to-date lab tested information. Foods will be retested from time to time; in the case of raw ingredients, such as fruits and vegetables, results may vary. All lab tested results are valid and represent a snapshot in time. As always, your tolerance is what counts; please eat accordingly. The ultimate goal of the low FODMAP diet is to eat as broadly as possible, without triggering symptoms, for the healthiest microbiome.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
