Secret Recipes

Hot and Sour Soup

• 6 cups of chicken stock or broth (or 4 cups water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes)
• 4 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/3 cup cooked shredded chicken or pork
• 3/4 cup mushrooms, diced
• 3/4 Tbsp garlic chili sauce
• 1/3 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned
• 4 1/2 oz block of tofu, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch and 2 Tbsp cold water
• 1 1/2 egg, beaten
• 3 green onion stalks, diced (including tops)
• 3/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a 2-quart saucepan. Add soy sauce, shredded meat, mushrooms and garlic chili sauce. Simmer for five minutes. Add white pepper, white vinegar, bamboo shoots, tofu. Simmer for five minutes. Combine two tablespoons of cornstarch with two tablespoons of cold water in a cup. Stir until mixture is smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to soup and stir well. Simmer for five minutes until soup is thickened. Beat egg in a cup until yolk and white are combined. Pour beaten egg slowly, in a fine stream into soup. Stir soup several times. Wait 30 seconds. Add green onions and sesame oil to soup. Stir well. Remove from heat. Serve hot.

Servings:

6 to 8