Authentic Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients
Rehydrate:
1/3 cup dried shiitake mushrooms *note
1/4 cup dried woodear mushrooms *note
1/4 cup dried lily flowers
Marinate:
1/2 lbs pork loin (or chicken breast) cut into thin strips
1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
Soup Base:
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 green onions chopped
2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar (black vinegar)
1 teaspoon white pepper powder or to taste
6 cups water or chicken stock
1/2 block (8 oz) firm tofu, cubed
4 ounces bamboo shoots (optional)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Directions
Gently rinse dried shiitake mushrooms, dried wood ear mushrooms, and lily flowers with tap water. Soak each of them with 1.5 to 2 cups warm water in three big bowls. Re-hydrate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until tender. Slice mushrooms into strips. Snip off the tough ends of lily flowers and discard. Remove tough ends of wood ear mushrooms, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the marinating water from lily flower and shiitake mushrooms, 2 cups in total.
Combine pork, Shaoxing wine, salt and cornstarch in a bowl. Mix well by hand. Marinate for 10 – 15 minutes.
Add Chinkiang vinegar and white pepper into a small bowl. Mix well until the white pepper is completely dissolved.
Add water or chicken stock, ginger, green onion, and bamboo shoots into a pot and heat over medium-high heat. If you reserved the marinating liquid from step one, you can add it plus 4 cups water or chicken stock.
Add re-hydrated wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, lily flowers, and tofu to the pot. Cook until bringing to a simmer. Add soy sauce and turn to medium-low heat.
Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water in a bowl until cornstarch is fully dissolved. Slowly swirl the cornstarch slurry into the soup. Stir to thicken the soup.
Add the pork from step one into the soup, stirring several times to prevent the pork strips from sticking together. Add the salt.
Slowly swirl in the beaten egg and stir well. The egg should be scattered and not clotted.
Remove the pot from stove. Add the vinegar and pepper mixture and stir to mix well.
Garnish with cilantro and drizzle with sesame oil. Give it a final stir. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed. Serve hot.
*note If you do not have the dry ingredients, you can use half a pound of fresh mushrooms instead. Then use chicken stock instead of water to make the soup.
