Hot and Sour Soup

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
HotandSourSoup.jpg


I've made hot and sour soup at home several times, and this is the best one yet. I started out with a recipe from Weight Watchers Take Out Tonight, and put my spin on it. After I got through with it, it's no longer weight watchers.

It has just the right amount of hot and sour for me. I loved it, and I'll be making it again (maybe switch out the mushrooms with straw mushrooms, or a combo of shiitake, straw, and button). I can't find wood ear mushrooms around here.

1 box, 32 oz, Kitchen Basics chicken stock
2T soy sauce
1T Lee Kum Kee chili garlic sauce
3T rice vinegar
1/2 lb thin cut, boneless, pork loin chops, cut into slivers
Shiitaki mushrooms, 1 small pkg, cleaned and sliced
8 ozs tofu, cut into small rectangles
2 to 3 T cornstarch (depending on how thick you like your soup)
3T chicken stock



In a large sauce pan, mix together the first four ingredients, and place over medium heat. When the mixture begins to simmer, add the pork slivers and the mushrooms. Simmer until the pork is fully cooked.


Add the tofu and continue to cook, about 15 minutes.


Mix together the cornstarch and the 3T of chicken stock. Add a ladle of the soup mixture to the cornstarch/stock mixture and stir until well combined. Add this mixture to the soup and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Variations:

- If you hate tofu, leave it out and add more meat.
- If you hate meat, leave it out and more tofu.
- Add sliced bamboo shoots if you like them.
- Add some sesame oil if you like that.
- Top the soup with crunchies (fried slivers of wonton/eggroll skins).
 
Looks LOVELY!!! Here's the version that I've been serving for years. Of course you do need to have the dried Wood Ear mushrooms & dried tiger lily buds - they're crucial to Hot & Sour Soup!:

BREEZY PEKING HOT & SOUR SOUP
(adapted from Madame Chu’s Chinese Cooking School)

One boneless skinless chicken breast
½ cup (3-4 caps) dried Chinese black mushrooms (or dried shitake mushrooms)
12 dried tiger-lily buds (aka “Golden Needles”)
1 tablespoon dried cloud ear mushrooms (aka “wood ear” mushrooms)
1 stalk Bok Choy, sliced (optional)
1 cake fresh firm or extra-firm bean curd (tofu)
1 egg
5 cups chicken broth
1 small can shredded bamboo shoots, drained
½ teaspoon sugar
2 tablesoons soy sauce
Approx. 3 tablespoons white vinegar (or to taste)
Approx. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of cold water
1 tablespoon sesame oil or hot (aka chili) sesame oil
Chopped fresh scallions for garnish - optional

Cut the chicken into shreds.
Soak mushrooms, cloud ears, & tiger-lily buds in 1-2 cups of hot water for 20-30 minutes, changing hot water every 10 minutes or so. Drain & rinse well. Shred the mushrooms & cloud ears; tie each tiger lily bud into a knot (for easier eating).
Cut bean curd into cubes.
Beat the egg thoroughly.

Heat broth in a pot large enough to hold all ingredients until boiling. Add chicken strips & mix a few times. Bring back to a low boil & add bean curd, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, cloud ears, & lily buds (also add Bok Choy, if using). Add sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, & black pepper. Boil for 2 minutes & then add –first stirring to recombine – cornstarch/water mixture. Stir & then pour in beaten egg. Turn off heat & stir again, then sprinkle sesame oil on top & taste for seasoning, adding in additional vinegar &/or pepper to taste if necessary. Serve.
 

Guts

New member
I've always wanted to try to make hot and sour soup myself. I think I found my inspiration. Thanks Cooksie your soup looks delicious.

thanks breezy cooking I may just use a little of both recipes, when I try.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Looks fantastic, Cooksie!

Nothing like it, on a cold winter night!

If you would like wood ears, PM me your address and I'll send you a bag.

Lee
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
Looks fantastic, Cooksie!

Nothing like it, on a cold winter night!

If you would like wood ears, PM me your address and I'll send you a bag.

Lee

speaking of mushrooms...i went to a market in Chinatown in San Fransisco and the whole store was basically dried mushrooms..it was great..smelled kinda funky but was cool
 
Looks fantastic, Cooksie!

Nothing like it, on a cold winter night!

If you would like wood ears, PM me your address and I'll send you a bag.

Lee

Amazon carries them too, along with many other difficult-to-find Asian cooking items, like salted preserved black beans, good Thai fish sauce, etc., etc. I've also found dried wood ear mushrooms in several regular supermarkets lately - wherever they have dried mushrooms.

Just this past week ordered a large package of the salted preserved black beans (I use them frequently, & kept in an airtight container they literally last FOREVER in your pantry), & they arrived in just a few days.
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Thanks you guys, and thanks for the offer Q-Sis. I may just have to do that.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Oh yeah!! The egg definitely improves the soup! That picture looks luscious!

I make this with lightly poached chunks of pork loin instead of chicken. And usually, I omit the tofu.

Try the pork loin sometime, Cooksie - it's great!

Lee
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Oh yeah!! The egg definitely improves the soup! That picture looks luscious!

I make this with lightly poached chunks of pork loin instead of chicken. And usually, I omit the tofu.

Try the pork loin sometime, Cooksie - it's great!

Lee

I thought I was using pork loin :dizzy:. I assumed that pork loin chops were just slices from a big pork loin, but I don't know much at all about different cuts of meat.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Oh yeah! LOL! I'm sorry, Cooksie - I was reading Breezy's recipe where she uses chicken!

(I think her DH can't eat pork.)

Neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmind, Cooksie!

Lee
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Did this one again with a few little changes.

I did a double batch, so I used 32 oz beef broth, the mushroom soaking liquid from a 1 oz pkg of dried shiitakes, and enough chicken stock to bring the total to 64 oz.

I used slivered pork tenderloin that I lightly browned before adding to the soup. I also added in some bamboo shoots and fresh button mushrooms.

No egg for this bowl, but I've got enough to freeze and will add egg to that when it is re-heated. Egg really does make it better.

HotandSourSoup-1.jpg
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
Site Supporter
Double Batch this time, same basic recipe with a few changes: used a blend of dried mushrooms (wood ear, cloud, ear, shiitake, oyster), bean sprouts instead of bamboo shoots, fresh button mushrooms, canned straw mushrooms, grated ginger, couple of green onions, little sesame oil, browned the pork slivers in peanut oil

Double%20Batch%20Hot%20and%20Sour%20Soup.jpg


After being refrigerated overnight:

Hot%20and%20Sour%20Soup_1.jpg
 
Top