Cook: Hot and Sour Soup
Hot and sour soup is always my go to when we order Chinese take out. Which got me to thinking one day, “how do you actually make hot and sour soup?”. After googling many recipes, I decided to experiment. The fun part about creating your own soups is that you can really play around with the flavors to get it just how you want it to taste. I learned that I like mine particularly sour and spicy! You can combine this recipe with my Instant Pot Orange Chicken and How to Cook Perfect Rice posts for the ultimate Chinese feast!
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (more to taste)
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 cans of low sodium chicken broth
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp ginger (freshly grated)
1 tsp Sriracha or hot sauce of your choice
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced)
4 ounces wood ear mushrooms (thinly sliced)
1/2 can of bamboo shoots
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Tofu (about half a block of extra-firm, drained and sliced thinly)
Green onions for garnish
Sesame oil
White pepper
Directions:
After you’ve minced your garlic and grated the ginger add chicken broth, soy sauce and hot sauce (along with garlic and ginger) into a large stockpot over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
Add in the mushrooms and then reduce heat and simmer for about 7-8 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
In a small bowl, whisk vinegar and cornstarch until smooth.
Add the vinegar mixture and stir until the soup thickens for a couple of minutes.
Crack eggs in a small bowl and use a fork or chopsticks to lightly beat them. Add the eggs in a very slow stream and continue to stir them into the soup with a fork. Cook until the eggs are set. The stirring will create pretty yellow ribbons. This should only take a couple of minutes. See video to the right.
Stir in tofu last and taste if the soup needs more vinegar. Adjust to your liking. Add in some sesame oil for garnish.
Top with green onions and white pepper. The white pepper adds the wow factor to your soup!
Such a simple recipe with minimal ingredients
The secret ingredient: white pepper powder. Available at your Asian market.