My husband loves hot and sour soup, but I don’t eat it, so I have no idea what a good recipe would be, and he’s no help in dissecting a recipe. I’m hoping some of you can educate me and perhaps provide good recipes for me to try. I’ve looked up some recipes on line, but they’ve been so diverse, I can’t even begin to choose.
Help me!! Thanks!
For all your favorites and more go to Lucille Liang
Hot and SOur soup page 69. The usual set up, marinade the pork, rehydrate mushrooms tree ears and lily flowers. Chx broth, Chin Kiang vinegar, jar choy, beaten egg, tapioca, sesame seed oil, scalliion for garnish…prep takes a bit but it’s a simple recipe really…
Get the book go shopping for ingredients to keep on hand…
I’ve tried, usually beef broth, some vinegar, sugar, hot sauce and a lot of inspiration.
I’ll just hang out and wait for an answer with you.
The best I’ve ever had has sesame oil and a garnish of fresh chopped green onions.
This one is my favorite. It really hits the spot on a cold day.
Hot and Sour Cabbage Soup
8 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound crumbled ground pork
Pepper to taste
1 small head green cabbage, cored and shredded (use half if you have a larger one)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
Sage to taste (4 or 5 fresh leaves is good)
1 cup whole kernel corn
10 fresh cremini or shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar (tarragon vinegar is also good)
1/4 cup Szechwan sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
Pour chicken stock into a large pot and heat to simmering.
Add the sesame oil to a medium frying pan and crumble ground pork into it. Add the green onions and pepper and cook until the pork is browned and the onions are soft. Add the sage and stir until fragrant, one minute or so.
Drain fat and add the pork to the stock. Stir in the cabbage, bean sprouts, corn, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, vinegar, Szechwan sauce, and soy sauce and cook 5 minutes more. Adjust seasonings to taste.
I never heard of some of these ingredients - it’ll be interesting to see if I can find them all. One of the disadvantages of living in the boonies.
**romansperson **- that one sounds simple enough, and I already have most of the ingredients. I may give it a try this weekend when my sweetie gets back from his travels.
I have noticed that the one he gets from a local restaurant seems to have tofu in it, or am I seeing something else? Is Tofu used?
The easiest recipe I’ve found, if you are looking for the H&S Soup usually found in the average Chinese restaurant, is the one from The Moosewood Cookbook.
You might want to spend some time on Google, but this one is similar.
I like the one from America’s Test Kitchen. I make it all the time. Except for the black Chinese vinegar (which they suggest a substitute for if you can’t find it) there aren’t any ingredients you can’t find in a regular grocery store. If I leave out the sesame & chili oil it tastes just like the H&S soup at my favorite Chinese place. I always make a double batch and take half to the neighbors. They love it too.
Oh, and instead of smushing the tofu to get rid of some of the liquid which is a pain in the ass, I cut it up early on and let it sit in a bowl that’s leaning up against something and drain the liquid off now and then.
Sure. You can use it in place of or in addition to the ground pork in the recipe I posted.
Thanks! I’ve bookmarked the link.
I guess H&S is like chicken soup - everyone has a variation on the theme.
Mr. Horseshoe looooves him some hot and sour soup. Here is the recipe he’s settled on after years of fiddling:
6 cups chicken broth
1/4 lb. shredded chicken
1-2 T garlic/red chili paste
2 T soy sauce
3/4 t white pepper
4 eggs, beaten
5 T cornstarch
1/2 cup bamboo shoots
1 cup straw & shiitakke mushrooms
1 120-oz package tofu
1 cup black rice wine vinegar
1 t sesame oil
chopped scallion to taste
Simmer broth, add soy sauce, meat, mushrooms and chili paste 10 mins.
Add vinegar, pepper and tofu, simmer another 5 mins.
Mix cornstarch with 5 T water and add in.
Whisk in eggs. Garnish with sesame oil and scallions.
Looks similar to the Test Kitchen one. We’re going to make it this weekend w/veg broth and sans meat for some vegetarian friends who are coming for dinner.
WHOA! That’s a LOT of vinegar, even for 6 cups of broth… and only one TEASPOON of sesame oil? Just checking’s all…
Go to an Asian market–they are a lot of fun, anyway.
There will be a shelf containing a zillion different dried mushrooms. These will be at a VERY reasonable price!
There is one that is called “dried fungus” or something like that. It is in long strips, almost like a dry fettucini. That product is the one you traditionally see in hot and sour soups in Chinese restaurants.
And have FUN in your adventure!
~VOW
When TNAI Mrs Plant and I were dating about a hundred years ago, I screwed up sweet and sour sauce, misreading teaspoons of soy sauce for tablespoons, and she loved it. I kept my error in the recipe.
from an old thread:
It’s cold outside again, and that means it’s time for Qadgop’s Hot & Sour Soup!
Ingredients:
6 cups (one 49 oz can) of chicken broth
1 tsp MSG (may be left out if you really don’t like it, but it’s not as good)
3 tbsp soy sauce (kikkoman is okay, avoid LaChoy!!)
6 oz lean pork, cut into julienne strips
8 oz firm or extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
1/2 to 1 cup bamboo shoots, julienned (or buy pre-julienned, a real time saver!!)
6 big shiitake mushrooms, (if using dried, rehydrate first), julienned.
6 cloud ear mushrooms, rehydrated, julienned. (adds texture but no flavor, may safely omit)
4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 - 1/2 cup water
1 tsp ground black pepper (more for hotter, I add a tablespoon in my house!)
1/3 cup rice vinegar (NOT seasoned rice vinegar, it has sugar added! The plain stuff) More for more sour, I add about a cup myself.
1 egg, beaten
1 or 2 green onions, including tops, thinly sliced.
Smoked sesame oil
Method:
Bring the chicken broth to a simmer. While it’s heating up, throw in the MSG, soy sauce, pork, tofu, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, then add the cornstarch/water mix, and stir until it starts to thicken. Add the pepper and rice vinegar, simmer for another minute or two, then remove from heat and immediately add the beaten egg slowly, while stirring.
You may serve now, or later. I like to wait a few hours with the soup just below simmering on the stove, and let the tofu take on the flavor of the broth. But when you’re ready, ladle it into a bowl, and garnish with sliced green onions and several drops of smoked sesame oil.
On behalf of my husband, I thank you all - the trick now will be making all of these and getting him to tell me which one(s) he prefers. One of our local grocery chains does have a fairly extensive international aisle - with luck, I can find all the exotic stuff I need.
Thanks again!
It’s usually called ‘wood ears’.
FairyChatMom: The wood ears and tofu and tiger lily buds called for in some recipes don’t really add flavor, but are mostly there for texture.