Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Yes, I know I could JGIM; however, there lots of not so good recipes out there. Here's the deal: there is a hole in the wall here that has great hss-I could live on this stuff. This version has no meat, only tofu, but if your eyes were closed while eating(mine aren't, I am keenly interested as to the ingredient list) it's meaty tasting. Eyeballing it-
Tofu, some red pepper flakes, shitake mushrooms, green spinach looking strips, eggs, I could wax poetic. Anyone have a good recipe?

I have one I really like - but it's at home. I'll try to remember it this evening.

The one I make uses woodear mushrooms and scallions - no spinachy anything. But I really like it. It does have the egg swirled in.

I use the CI one and we like it alot. It does have pork but you can cook w/o it.
Hot and Sour Soup
Published: January 1, 2006

To make slicing the pork chop easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. We prefer the distinctive flavor of Chinese black vinegar; if you can't find it, a combination of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar approximates its flavor.
INGREDIENTS
7 ounces extra-firm tofu , drained
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons cornstarch , plus an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 boneless, center-cut, pork loin chop (1/2 inch thick, about 6 ounces), trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch by 1/8-inch matchsticks
3 tablespoons cold water , plus 1 additional teaspoon
1 large egg
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup bamboo shoots (from one 5-ounce can), sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms , stems removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 cup)
5 tablespoons black Chinese vinegar or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (see note above)
2 teaspoons chili oil (see note above)
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 medium scallions , sliced thin

1. Place tofu in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight with 2 heavy cans; let stand at least 15 minutes (tofu should release about 1/2 cup liquid). Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in medium bowl; toss pork with marinade and set aside for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30 minutes).
2. Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in small bowl and mix thoroughly; set aside, leaving spoon in bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch with remaining 1 teaspoon water in small bowl; add egg and beat with fork until combined. Set aside.
3. Bring broth to boil in large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. While broth simmers, dice tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Add tofu and pork, including marinade, to soup, stirring to separate any pieces of pork that stick together. Continue to simmer until pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, chili oil, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce; turn off heat.
5. Without stirring soup, use soupspoon to slowly drizzle very thin streams of egg mixture into pot in circular motion. Let soup sit 1 minute, then return saucepan to medium-high heat. Bring soup to gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat. Gently stir soup once to evenly distribute egg; ladle into bowls and top with scallions.

My notes: I've used the sub for Chinese black vinegar and didn't notice a difference. I also sub arrowroot for cornstarch.

I love this stuff too. Aren't the green things a seaweed of sorts? I also think that some of them also have miso in it which gives it the meaty taste.

I used to make plain old egg drop soup a hundred years ago, that is fun too. I like using those paddle style spoonula utensils to slurp it up.

I bet Pepperhead has a good recipe for it too.

Nancy,
Thanks for posting, I swear I didn't even look at CI, I just didn't remember this at all! Weird. I ran out of Black Chinese Vinegar a while back, so I appreciate the note on the sub. I like this stuff so much, it makes me wonder if Rod is pregnant.

Seaweed and miso are Japanese so I wouldn't expect to see either in a Chinese H&SS.

Ha, yes I suppose so.

I have probably had most of my hot slurpy asian soups at sushi bars, which makes sense.

Easy Bake and Crystal,

I'll send you a copy of Dave's recipe.