Hot and Sour Soup

By arthurlemay

Ingredients

• Chinese Chicken Stock:
• 4 dried wood-ear mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 piece fresh ginger, 1-inch long, peeled and grated
• 1 tablespoon red chili paste
• 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
• 1/4 pound barbeque pork, shredded
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 pinch sugar
• 2 quarts Chinese chicken stock
• 1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced into 1/4-inch strips
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions for garnish
• 1 whole chicken (4 pounds), cut up
• 1 bunch green onions, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 -inch piece of fresh ginger, smashed
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
• 3 quars cold water

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

Put the wood ears in a small bowl and coer with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears. Discard any hard clusters in the centers.

Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots and pork. Cook for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar in a small bowl. Pour it into the wok and toss everything together. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir the soup in one direction to get a current going. Slowly pour in the beaten egg in a narrow stream. Garnish with the chopped green onion.


TO MAKE CHINESE CHICKEN STOCK:

put the chicken pieces in a large stockpot and place over medim heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion and peppercorns. Pour 3 quarts of water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.

Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator.