Soup, hot and sour, Chinese restaurant

Hot and sour soup is a Chinese restaurant starter built on a thin, vinegar-and-white-pepper-spiked broth filled with shreds of wood ear mushroom, bamboo shoot, tofu, and often thin ribbons of egg stirred in at the end. A splash of chili oil or a shake of white pepper at the table lets each diner adjust the heat, while the vinegar does the sour work, usually balanced against a touch of soy sauce or sesame oil for depth. It is almost always served as a first course, ladled hot from a communal pot, and eaten with a spoon alongside the rest of a shared meal, and many home versions add a little cornstarch slurry to give the broth its characteristic light thickness.

This soup runs just 39 calories per 100 g, with only 0.42 g of sugar and 1.21 g of fat and 2.58 g of protein, so a bowl adds very little to a meal's calorie or sugar total. The main thing to watch is sodium, which sits at 376 mg per 100 g; a full 233 g restaurant cup adds up quickly if you are also having salty entrees like fried rice or lo mein on the side. Because it is so light, it works well as a way to add volume and warmth to a meal before a heavier main course rather than as a stand-alone dish, and it is easy enough to recreate at home with a few pantry staples if you want to control the salt yourself.