Recipe: Hot and Sour Soup (Suan La Tang)

Hot and Sour Soup (Suan La Tang)

Serves 4

Ingredients

Method

4 cups Chicken Or Vegetable Broth

1 cup Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, Sliced

½ cup Canned Bamboo Shoots, Drained And Sliced

¼ cup Rice Vinegar

¼ cup Soy Sauce

1 tsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Ground White Pepper

1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp. Chili Oil

¼ tsp. Sesame Oil

½ lb. Firm Tofu, Drained And Sliced Into Thin Strips

2 tbsp. Cornstarch

2 tbsp. Water

2 Large Eggs, Lightly Beaten

2 Green Onions, Sliced

1 Small Handful Of Chopped Fresh Cilantro

In a large pot, combine the chicken or vegetable broth, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, black pepper, chili oil, and sesame oil. Add this mixture to the boiling broth.

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the tofu strips to the soup and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with water to create a slurry. Add this to the soup, stirring gently until the soup thickens.

Slowly pour the beaten eggs into the soup while stirring constantly to create egg ribbons.

Remove the soup from heat, and stir in the green onions and chopped cilantro.

Serve hot, adjusting the seasonings if necessary to achieve the desired balance of hot and sour flavors.