Hot & sour soup nutrition information isn't always obvious when you're dining out, nor do you always know the ingredients it contains. The soup is low in calories, but high in sodium and fairly rich in protein from pork and tofu.
Hot and Sour Soup Nutrition
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According to the USDA, a cup of hot and sour soup contains 95.2 calories. Hot and sour soup carbs amount to 10.6 grams per serving and cholesterol is about 51.2 milligrams. Moreover, the amount of sodium in hot and sour soup is 917 milligrams, more than half of the recommended daily sodium intake.
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The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans from Health.gov advises that the average sodium intake, which is 3,440 milligrams per day is too high and should be lowered to 2,300 milligrams per day. Evidence shows that reductions in sodium intake can lower blood pressure, especially among those with hypertension and prehypertension.
While consuming hot and sour soup regularly may not significantly affect your weight, it can affect your blood pressure levels — so make sure to keep the amount you eat within the suggested sodium intake limits.
Read more: 12 Slimming Soups
Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
HealthyEating.org recommends a hot and sour soup recipe that calls for 8 cups of low calcium chicken broth, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 3 tablespoons of water, one thinly sliced cabbage or bok choy, 1 cup of sliced shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 cup sliced green onions, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of minced ginger root, 1/2 pound of tofu cut in strips, 1 cup of white wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of black pepper, two eggs and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil.
The recipe suggests boiling the broth, then mixing the water and cornstarch and setting it aside. Add the vegetables, ginger root and soy sauce to the broth. Next, stir in the cornstarch and finally add the tofu strips, vinegar and pepper. Reduce to a simmer and slowly drizzle in the egg. Remove from the heat and add the sesame oil. Serve, and enjoy.
Hot and sour soup can be a fairly nutritious appetizer option, as it contains the nutrient, manganese as well as small amounts of folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, phosphorus, iron and magnesium, according to LIVESTRONG.com article, Nutritional Facts for Hot and Sour Soup. However, it is high in sodium, so make sure to control your portions.
Soup Food Safety Tips
In order to stay healthy, you'll not only want to know the nutritional facts of hot & sour soup, but to also make sure you're following the proper food safety guidelines. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, soup should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three to four days and in the freezer for no more than two to three months. Storing the food for longer periods of time can eventually lead to foodborne illness.
If you don't eat the soup immediately after cooking, you must keep it hot with the proper equipment, such as with a bain-marie or soup kettle, says the Food Standards Agency. Hot soup must be kept at 63 degrees Celsius or 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
If food has been out for two hours or more at room temperature, it should be thrown away as it may be spoiled. One way to prevent this is to make sure food is steaming hot from the time it's cooked to the time it's served.