carol, i don't have much point of comparison, as i don't eat hot and sour soup often. however, the (first) recipe i posted is the only hot and sour soup i've ever had and liked. like you, i'm not a big tofu fan so the chicken works well for my palate. the recipe sounds lengthy, but it doesn't take much time at all, approx 20min, so freezing never occured to me. i also cook for two and we enjoy the extra servings the next day. it reheats well.