Hot and Sour Soup
Hot and sour soup is a popular soup served at Chinese restaurants in the United States. This version tastes exactly like that served at various Chinese restaurants in California.
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock or broth (or 4 cups water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
- 4 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- ⅓ cup cooked shredded chicken or pork
- ¾ cup mushrooms, diced
- ¾ tablespoon garlic chili sauce
- ⅓ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned
- 4 ½ oz block of tofu, cut into ¼-inch dice
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 green onion stalks, diced (including tops)
- ¾ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan.
- Add soy sauce, shredded meat, mushrooms and garlic chili sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add black pepper, white vinegar, bamboo shoots, tofu. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Combine 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well.
- Simmer for 5 minutes until soup is thickened.
- Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup. Stir soup several times, then wait 30 seconds.
- Add green onions and sesame oil to soup. Stir well and remove from heat.
- Serve hot.