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).