Hot and Sour Soup
Recipe video above. A firm Chinese starter favourite! A glossy soup broth that's savoury, sour and as spicy as you want it to be, filled with mushrooms, tofu and bamboo shoots. Skip the chicken to make it meat free, or add shrimp/prawns or fish pieces. Serves 6 - 8 as a starter, or 4 as a light meal.
Ingredients
- 220 g7oz chicken breast
- 12dried shiitake mushrooms ((or 150g/5oz fresh) (note 1))
- ½ cupwood ear mushrooms (, chopped 1.5cm/ 3/5" pieces (note 1))
- 1 tspdried chilli / red pepper flakes (, adjust spice to taste (note 2))
- 2 tspdark soy sauce ((note 3))
- 1 tbsplight soy sauce ((note 3))
- 1 tspginger (, finely grated)
- ½ tspwhite pepper ((sub black))
- 6 cupschicken or veg stock/broth (, low sodium)
- 1 tspsesame oil
- 1 tspsugar
- ¼ cupwhite vinegar ((adjust to taste))
- 125 g4oz firm tofu (~ 1 cup) (, cut into 1.2cm / 0.5" cubes (note 4))
- ¼ cupbamboo shoots (, thinly sliced (note 5))
- 2eggs (, whisked)
- ¼ cupcornstarch/cornflour
- ¼ cupwater
- salt to taste
- 1shallot/scallion (, finely sliced)
Directions
- 1
Cover shiitake mushrooms with plenty of boiling water. Stand 20 - 30 minutes until soft, drain, then slice thinly. (Discard or reserve liquid for other use)
Poached chicken:
- 1
Place chicken broth, ginger, soy sauces, chilli, sugar, pepper and sesame oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
- 2
Once simmering, add chicken, cover and reduce heat so it's simmering.
- 3
Cook 10 minutes, remove chicken and shred.
Finish soup:
- 1
Add vinegar, shiitake, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu and shredded chicken into the soup.
- 2
Stir, simmer for 10 minutes.
- 3
Mix cornflour with water. While stirring soup at a medium pace, slowly pour the cornflour mixture in (ensures no lumps).
- 4
When it starts simmering again, stir constantly and slowly pour egg in a thin stream - this will create the signature "egg ribbons".
- 5
Taste - add salt if desired, more chilli if you want.
- 6
Add shallots and serve!