
Lightly cooked, it retains a crisp-tender crunchiness, reminiscent of cartilage on chicken bones. Found in most Asian grocery stores, it comes packaged in a dehydrated state and after being soaked in water for 1 to 2 hours, it unfurls into a thin, shiny, wavy pansy-like shape. Wood ear is an edible fungus that has a very different mouthfeel than most other varieties of mushrooms. For a completely vegetarian version, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth-alternatively, rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms to use in the soup and keep the soaking liquid to use as broth. This is an infinitely adaptable soup that you can customize to your liking. If you'd prefer a version with pork, you can add ground or sliced meat at the very beginning of the cooking process, right after the aromatics and before the Sriracha. With the memory of that childhood favorite in mind, I set out to recreate a version of it with none of the ingredients I disliked as a kid (dried lily buds) and more of the ones I loved. But come lunchtime, my sacrifice would be rewarded: mom would order me my favorite pairing, a slice of scallion-sesame bread stuffed with beef and a pint of hot and sour soup. Over the course of 8 hours, I would slowly but surely get bored out of my mind sitting in her office trying to keep myself busy with nothing at all. During long summer breaks with nothing to do, my mom would take me with her to work. Give the soup a final mix and adjust for any seasoning if needed.Hot and sour soup has always been a comfort food of sorts growing up. To finish the soup, add the white vinegar along with freshly chopped scallions. If done correctly, you will begin to see the egg form silky egg ribbons throughout the soup that gives Hot and Sour soup its signature look! Slowly pour in the beaten egg in a thin stream while simultaneously mixing the soup and egg with a ladle or spoon. Now that the soup has thickened, turn the heat to low. Mix until the broth has thickened to your preference. Once the soup comes to a boil, give your cornstarch slurry a final mix to pick up any cornstarch that has sunk to the bottom of your mixture, then pour in the slurry. Mix those in and cover to bring the soup to a boil. To the broth, add in your sliced mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots.

Add the mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots The broth with turn a dark brown color like the photo below. Turn the heat up to high and season with white pepper, salt to taste, sugar, msg, light & dark soy sauce, and sesame oil.
HOT AND SOUR SOUP CODE
Next, add 8 cups of a high quality chicken broth or stock ( I always use Kettle & Fire – get 20% off your order when you use code CJPINS!). Infuse the chilis in the oil for about a minute until they release their flavor into the oil, then remove the chilis from the pot. In a heavy bottomed pot, heat 1/2 tbsp of neutral oil over medium heat and add the chilis. In a separate bowl, create a cornstarch slurry by mixing together 1/4 cup of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of water.įor some spice, I’m using 3 dried red chilis, but you can omit them or adjust the spice level to your preference.

Next, beat 3 eggs along with a tablespoon of water in a bowl. Slice the tofu, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots into strips. This soup does not take long to make, and most of the work is prepping the ingredients. Hot and Sour Soup: Recipe Instructions Prep your ingredients

The cornstarch slurry will help thicken the stock to the consistency you like! If you like the soup thinner, add less, but if you like an extra thick soup add a little more! You can always adjust with more chicken broth if the ratio is off. This is the KEY ingredient to thickening the soup base. I’m using a variety of shiitake, wood ear, and king oyster mushrooms due to their flavor and variety in texture.
HOT AND SOUR SOUP FREE
Feel free to use whatever mushrooms you like in this dish.
