Hot and Sour Soup

Soup-a-licious, so delicious, make the boys go loco!

This soup comes together quickly and can be easily adapted to vegetarian or meaty depending on your mood.  Add BBQ pork, tofu, chicken, bamboo shoots, pea pods, etc.

Ingredients:

For Chinese Chicken Stock:

• 1 quart chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
• 1 bunch green onions, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• About 2 quarts cold water

For Soup:

• 1 pint mushrooms
• 2 T peanut oil
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 T red chile paste, such as sambal oelek*
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 1/4 C rice vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• Pinch sugar
• 2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock
• 3 T cornstarch mixed with 1/4 C water
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish

*One tablespoon sambal olek will make the soup flavorful. Two tablespoons will give the soup some heat.

Directions for Chinese Stock:

Place all stock ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil then simmer until reduced to 2 quarts about 30 minutes. Strain off solids and reserve liquid.

Directions for Soup:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, and any meat or vegetable you are using, cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the pot and stir. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Protip: For additional oomph, add a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil to the soup just before serving.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.