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Hot and Sour Soup

Source of Recipe

Master Chef Don's 2008 Collection


Recipe Introduction

Servings: 4

List of Ingredients


1/4 cup pork shredded pork
3 T corn starch
1 t sherry
2 large dried black mushrooms
1/4 cup dried wood ears
1/4 cup dried tiger lily stems
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, shredded
1-2 T oil
1 T soy sauce
6 cups Chicken Broth
2 T cider vinegar
2 T dark soy sauce
1/2 cup bean curd, 1 inch cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 drops Tabasco sauce (or as much as you wish for spicy soup to balance
flavors
1 T sesame oil
2 t chopped scallions


Recipe


Mix the pork with sherry and 1 tsp corn starch(of the 3TBS).

Soak wood ears, mushrooms, tiger lillies with boiling water.

Cover and soak for 15 minutes.

Cut any of these up in a way that is desirable to you.

The mushrooms are the only vegetable that require cutting up.

Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/2 cup of cold water and set aside.

Use a large pot which will eventually cook the soup and add oil.

Heat oil and add pork.

Cook several minutes until pink is gone.

Add the mushrooms, wood ears, tiger lillies, bamboo shoots, light soy sauce and cook for about 1 minute.

Add the chicken broth and dark soy sauce.

Cook until soup becomes well heated. Add cider vinegar.
Add bean curdas soon as the soup begins to boil stir in the well-stirred cornstarch mixture until the soup thickens.

Add the Tabasco sauce.

Add Tofu.

Mix in the beaten egg, stirring constantly,taste the soup and adjust the vinegar, tabasco, soy sauce combination to your desire.

Add the sesame oil and scallions.

NOTE: THE KEY TO A GOOD TASTE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE HOT(TABASCO), THE SOUR(VINEGAR), AND THE SOY SAUCE.
YOU MAY NEED TO EXPERIMENT TO FIT YOUR OWN TASTE.
I usually double or triple this recipe. You can also use pepper instead of tabasco.