The Chinese Quest Finding the best Chinese restaurants on Long Island and NYC
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<– THIS is what it looks like outside my window today.
<– THIS is how it has looked for the last few weeks.
<– THIS is not the kind of weather that one would venture out in to to pick up some Chinese Food.
<– And, THIS is not the kind of weather that the Chinese restaurants will deliver in.
SO, what is a Mee to do? What Mee must do is to make do with what one can do inside one own’s kitchen. And this recipe for Hot and Spicy Soup would be perfect remedy for the deep freeze that we were in.
If you’ve got 30 minutes, and all these ingredients on hand, then have we got a nice stomach warming recipe that will feed your family of four.
Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
Lily buds
6 dried wood/tree ear or cloud ear mushrooms
6 dried dried shiitake mushrooms (aka Chinese black mushrooms)
8 dried lily buds
4 cups Chinese Superior Stock (see below) or chicken broth or chicken stock or vegetable broth
1 (8-ounce) can bamboo shoots, drained and sliced thinly
8 ounces firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
4 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
1 tablespoon chili sauce, such as sambal oelek
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into 2 tablespoons water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons chili oil
4 green onions sliced
Directions:
Pour 1 cup boiling water over the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms and soak until tender, about 15 minutes, before slicing them and reserving the water.- Pour 1 cup boiling water over the lily buds and soak until tender, about 15 minutes, before slicing them and discarding the water.
- Bring the broth, reserved mushroom water, mushrooms, lily buds, pork, bamboo shoots, tofu, vinegar, chili sauce, soy sauce and sugar to a boil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Mix in the cornstarch and water mixture and simmer until the soup thickens a bit, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in the eggs in a small stream while stirring the pot, to get long thin streams of egg in the soup.
- Mix in the sesame oil, chili oil, white pepper and green onions, remove from heat and enjoy!
Stay warm my friends!
Humbly submitted for your consumption,
—Mee Magnum (“Chop! Chop!”)
Thanks for posting this! I used to eat hot and sour soup all of the time when I used to teach English in Nanjing. The climate is very humid, so it gets extremely cold during the winter. Naturally, hot soups are quite popular when it’s cold in Nanjing. Out of all of the soup that I ate, I found hot and sour soup the most comforting and delicious. I can’t wait to make this recipe at home so that I can eat it in my own home.
Deanna, glad you like! We can’t wait to hear what you think of the recipe. Please do let us know!
Are there any other favorite dishes that you like? Perhaps you have a recipe that you’d like to share! We welcome guest authors… and we will give links back to your website/blog.
Yummy
Victoria, I’m glad you’re in the majority! Have you tried this recipe?
I love hot & sour soup but made with no peppers. Lol. Love the vinegar!
Jan, to be honest I’ve never been a big fan of hot and sour soup. But, I know some people love it so much… I just had to cater, in this case, to the masses!
Looks yummy
Robin, for some people it’s the best thing in the whole world!
This is the coldest February I can remember in a long long time. It seems like all of Long Island has become a frozen tundra. Will Spring ever come? This is a recipe that will warm the cockles of your heart, and put a fire in your belly!