Hot & Sour Soup

[Dave Weinstein]

Hot & Sour Soup

Serves 3 as Main Dishor 4 as Soup.

This is one of my most prized recipes. Years ago, I sat down with a stack of ingredients, a stack of various recipes that claimed to make Hot and Sour Soup, and a weekend. This recipe is the result. The soup itself is sour and complexly flavored, with the heat (coming from peppercorns, not chile peppers) taking time to build. This recipe calls for a few exotic ingredients, they are crucial to the flavor. I make no promises as to what happens if you substitute...

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Base:

• 3 cans Chicken Broth (Approximately 40-42 ounces)
  
• 1 lb Extra Firm Tofu
  
• 1 can sliced Bamboo shoots (if you can find sour bamboo shoots, these are preferred)
  
• 1/2 oz (approx) dried Cloud Ears
  
• 1/3 c sliced cooked meat (optional)
  
• Lotus Buds to taste (optional)
  

Seasonings:

• 1 T Sugar
  
• 1 T Dark Soy Sauce
  
• 3 T Red Wine Vinegar
  
• 3 T Lemon Juice
  
• 3 T Fish Sauce
  
• 3 T Chinese Black Rice Vinegar
  
• 3 T Corn Starch
  
• 1/2 T Salt (to taste, and depending on the saltiness of the stock)
  
• 3/4 tsp Ground Roasted Sichuan Peppercorns
  
• 1/2 tsp Ground Black Peppercorns
  
• 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
  

Garnish:

• 1 large egg (beaten)
  
• 3 T minced green onions (optional)
  

Set the cloud ears in luke warm water for 30 minutes to rehydrate. If you are using Lotus Buds, rehydrate them with the cloud ears. Once they have rehydrated, slice them (I find it easiest to hold them in a bunch, and then just slice across the mushrooms) if they are too large to eat comfortably. Slice the tofu (half an inch wide and high, and the length being half the width of the Tofu block works well), and combine the tofu, cloud ears, bamboo shoots, and the lotus buds or meat if you are using them, and put them aside in a bowl. You may find you have a little too much, if you do just set it aside for another batch or another recipe, and make a little less the next time. This is the place to experiment, all sorts of vegetables or meats could be added here.

In a bowl or liquid measure, combine all of the seasoning ingredients, and stir well. These are the most important ingredients, they are what give the soup its flavor. Do not substitute.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil over high heat, in a pan capable of holding about three times the volume of the chicken stock. Once the stock reaches a boil, add the bowl of chopped vegetables and meats, and again, let the soup come to a boil. You want to leave room for the seasonings and the garnish, so don't overfill your pan. Once the soup again starts to boil, add in the seasonings (being sure to stir first, so that the corn starch doesn't clump). While the soup again moves towards a boil, beat the egg in the same container you had the seasonings in (to get that last bit of flavor stuck to the sides) and mix in the green onions if you are using them. When the soup again reaches a boil, slowly spoon in the egg mixture. Turn the heat down to simmer, and serve.

Keywords: Soup, Easy, Chinese

( RG1722 )