Hot and Sour Soup

New Year’s Eve was a quiet one for my family. We had a simple meal and watched several movies. I made bistek (Filipino beef steak) and hot and sour soup.

Hot and sour soup is a Chinese soup which usually consists of meat like pork and shrimp. This recipe is a vegetarian version which consists of Chinese mushrooms, black fungus, enoki mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu and carrots. The soup is made hot (spicy) by chili oil and sour by rice vinegar.

Happy 2013 everyone 😀

Hot and Sour Soup

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6-8 dried Chinese mushrooms
• 10 dried black fungus (optional)
• 1 (454 g) pkg. firm tofu, drained and cut into strips
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (227 ml) can sliced bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained and sliced into thinner strips
• 100g (3.5 oz) fresh enoki mushrooms, bottom stems trimmed
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and finely julienned
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar, plus more if necessary
• ¼ cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon chili oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten (optional)

Instructions

1. Cover the dried mushrooms and fungus in hot water in separate bowls for about 30 minutes to soften.
2. Drain and remove the tough stems from the mushrooms: slice the caps into fine matchstick-size shreds.
3. If using, drain the fungus and cut away the hard nibs: cut the fungus into fine shreds.
4. In a large pot, bring the vegetable broth to a boil over high heat.
5. Add the tofu, shredded mushrooms, fungus, bamboo shoots, enoki mushrooms and carrot.
6. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the water and slowly mix into the soup, stirring well.
7. When the soup returns to a boil and has slightly thickened, add soy sauce, rice vinegar, green onions, ginger, chili oil, sesame oil and white pepper.
8. If the soup is not spicy enough, add more vinegar, chili oil and ginger, to taste.
9. If the soup is not thick enough (I like my soup really thick), slowly add cornstarch mixture (1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water) to the soup until the right consistency has been reached,
10. Remove from heat and if desired, add egg, slowly pouring in a thin stream, stirring the soup in a circular motion.
11. Serve immediately.
12. Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe was adapted from Save on Foods’ Fall/Winter 2002 issue of“Appeal”.

3.5.3208