hot and sour soup

You will need

• 2 chinese dried mushrooms, soaked
• 50g cooked leftover meat (eg. chicken, pork etc.)
• 450ml chicken stock
• 100g tofu
• 30ml (2tbsp) cider vinegar
• 30ml (2tbsp) soy sauce
• 2 eggs
• 5ml (1tsp) chilli oil
• salt

To prepare

Drain the mushrooms and slice very thinly
Slice the meat very thinly
Pour the stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil
Add the mushrooms and meat and simmer for 5 minutes
Meanwhile drain the tofu and pat dry. Cut into thin slices. Add to the pan with the vinegar and soy sauce. Heat gently
Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the chilli oil, to taste. Beat well. Pour into the hot soup in a thin, steady stream then stir vigourously with a fork until the eggs form threads.
Add salt to taste.

cooking for one or two

I used to love shopping for food in the Chinatown district in Washington, D.C. The spices and vegetables all looked so foreign and exotic when I first started going there, but I got the hang of it eventually. This recipe for Hot and Sour Soup comes from a little market about a block away from the Verizon Center.

Hot and Sour Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 whole wood ear mushrooms or ½ cup slivered wood ear mushrooms.
• 3 dried black or shiitake mushrooms.
• 5 cups chicken stock.
• 6 ounces soft tofu, drained and diced.
• 4 ounces bamboo shoots (about ¼ cup)
• 4 ounces lean boneless pork, thinly sliced.
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger.
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bottom 5-6 inches only, crushed.
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar.
• 3 tbsp. dark soy sauce.
• one pinch cayenne pepper, to taste.
• 1 tsp. sesame oil.
• ½ tsp. sugar.
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water.
• 1 egg, lightly beaten.
• Chopped cilantro as garnish.
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced diagonally.

Directions

Soak the wood ear mushrooms and black mushrooms in warm water to cover until softened, about 30 minutes. Swish the mushrooms to remove any grit or dirt. Drain and slice them into thin slivers.

In a large soup pot, bring the stock to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, tofu, bamboo shoots, pork, ginger, and lemon grass. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for three minutes. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, cayenne, sesame oil, and sugar. Simmer three minutes longer. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the cornstarch mixture, and cook, stirring, until the soup boils and thickens slightly.

Remove and discard the lemon grass. Remove the soup from the heat and slowly drizzle the egg, stirring in one direction, until the egg forms short threads. Ladle into bowls, garnish with cilantro and scallions, and serve immediately.