Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup



Before I start this entry, I want to inform you that this weekend is going to be post-heavy. I’m having a late birthday dinner party on Saturday and I’ll be posting everything from it on Sunday.

That said, let’s have some soup, shall we? Hot and Sour Soup is popular among Chinese restaurant-goers, myself included. I have my own special place that makes the best Hot and Sour Soup in my opinion. Some nights I dream about it.

Okay, the last bit is a lie. However, I’m not always able to go downtown for some delectable soup so I played around with various recipes and came up with my own.



In truth, the recipe is very simple. You’ll have to make a trip to the International Foods aisle of your grocery store or an Asian market if your city/town has one. Pick up some Pocky while you’re there and make the trip really worthwhile.



And be sure to plate it accordingly. I happen to be incredibly fond of my lacquer bunny trays (admittedly, they are plastic).



This is Daikon-kun. Isn’t she adorable? I want to take her everywhere with me.

I’m not witty today, I know. I’m sorry, it’s been a long week. I want to be doing this:


Hot and Sour Soup:
6 cups chicken stock
1 8oz can of bamboo shoots, drained and sliced thinly
¼ cup rice vinegar
3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil (this is really strong, be gentle with it)
1 tbsp ginger (optional)
½ tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
10oz firm (extra firm is fine too) tofu, cut into strips
1 egg, beaten
Green onions (optional)

Mix chicken stock, bamboo shoots, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, chili garlic sauce, and rice vinegar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. While stirring, add in cornstarch mixture. Continue stirring until soup has thickened, about 3 minutes. Add tofu and cook until heated through. Slowly add beaten egg while stirring. Salt to taste. Garnish with chopped green onions.

Next recipe(s): Pita Goes Greek...Salad!, Slow-cooked Tomato Sauce, Traditional Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (Scheduled post: Sunday, November 16, 2008)