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Chinese Hot & Sour Soup

Source of Recipe

SheHuffer


List of Ingredients

4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 pound barbecued chicken - shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce substitute
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon Splenda
2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock, recipe follows
3 tablespoons arrowroot mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish


Recipe

1. Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.

2. Heat the a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and shredded chicken; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor.

3. Combine the soy sauce substitute, vinegar, pepper, and Splenda in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together – it should smell really fragrant.

4. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Dissolve the arrowroot in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens.

6. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten egg white 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.
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Chinese Chicken Stock:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken or 3 quarts low/no salt chicken 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 white peppercorns
About 3 quarts cold water (Do not add if using premade chicken stock in place of chicken)
1. Put all ingredients into a large stock pot, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.

2. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
Yield: About 2 quarts