Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Taking the mystery out of hot and sour soup has been life changing - at least in the soup making department.

I’ve been reading, testing and tasting my way though recipes - old and new. The recipe that stood out and is what I used as a guide is from The Woks of Life, which is a wealth of information when cooking Chinese.

This soup takes a little bit of prep – depending on how many ingredients you decide to add, but it’s not difficult to make. Actually, it’s a very quick soup to cook and reheats well, so leftovers are a plus.

My notes to you…

·         The HOT comes from the white pepper mostly/some from the chili garlic and the SOUR from the vinegar. Adjust those ingredients to your desired taste and as I always suggest, make it as written first before adjusting.

·         I add bean threads (long rice) to my soup to give it a little more body. This is optional, but highly recommended and the way that my husband likes it. So sometimes I add it and other times I don’t.

·         I’m not a fan of bamboo shoots and always seem to have leftovers that I end up tossing out. So I leave them out of my soup and that’s why I tagged it as an optional ingredient on the recipe.

·         To quickly rehydrate dried shitake mushrooms, cover with a cup of boiled hot water and place another smaller bowl on top to keep it submerged. The black fungus rehydrates quickly in cold water.

·         My main focus when I made up this recipe was to get the broth right and to shrink the recipe to an amount that made sense for my husband and I. With that said; this recipe will double easily. If you decide to double, use only 3 eggs.

·         You can leave the pork out and make it a vegetarian soup – it will still be tasty.

·         This soup is healing for your stomach/digestion because of the addition of ginger, fungus and vinegar. 

Dried and Rehydrated -Shitake, Fungus and Bean Threads

Tofu, Pork, Shitake, Ginger, Fungus and Bean Threads.

Hot and Sour Soup

4 cups Chinese chicken stock (I use the broth that I have after cooking a steamed chicken)

Or – and this is probably more often used;

14oz. can of Swansons 33% less sodium Chicken Broth

2 1/4 cup water (use the shitake soaking water as part of this)

PORK

1/2 pound of ground pork

1 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. oil

1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

2 Tbsp. green onions, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. cornstarch

DRY ingredients

3 Shitake Mushrooms, rehydrated and julienned

1 rounded Tbsp. Black Fungus (wood ear), rehydrated; rough chop

1/2 oz. bean threads, cut into 1-in pieces (optional)

WET ingredients

1/2 block med-firm or firm Tofu (8oz.), cut into 2-inch long 1/4-inch thick strips

1/2 cup Bamboo Shoots, julienned (optional)

SEASONING

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. mushroom soy sauce

2 tsp. Kikkoman soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 tsp. chili garlic sauce

THICKEN/Finish

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

2 eggs, beaten

2-3 sprigs green onions, finely cut for garnish

PREP

1.      Soak the dry ingredients in about 1 cup of tap water in separate bowls; the shitake will take the most time to rehydrate – see note to quickly rehydrate.

2.      Place the pork in a bowl and add ingredients listed under PORK and mix to blend; set aside.

3.      When dry ingredients are rehydrated, cut both DRY and WET ingredients as written above.

4.      Beat eggs; set aside.

5.      Mix cornstarch and water; set aside.

6.      Gather all your seasoning ingredients and place them with the rest of your prepped ingredients next to your pot along with your measuring spoons.

LET’S COOK

1.      Heat a pot or wok over med-high heat.

2.      Add about 1 Tbsp. oil and swirl to coat bottom of pot/wok. Brown pork and cook until no longer pink.

3.      Add Shitake mushrooms, black fungus and (if adding) bean threads and bamboo shoots. Mix with pork and cook for about 1 min.

4.      Pour in chicken stock; stir scraping bottom to release anything that has stuck.

5.      Add seasoning ingredients; stir and bring to a boil.

6.      Add tofu and bring back to a boil.

7.      Stir cornstarch and water to make sure it is mixed well. Slowly pour into soup while stirring to thicken.

8.      Bring soup back to a boil, remove from the heat and pour a thin stream of the egg into the soup while slowly stirring in a circular motion.

9.      Garnish with green onions.