HOTSOUR-SOUP-1(SP)       USENET Cookbook       HOTSOUR-SOUP-1(SP)
HOT AND SOUR SOUP
     HOTSOUR-SOUP-1 - Szechuan hot and sour soup
     I have seldom been to a Chinese restaurant without 
having
     hot and sour soup, and it was pleasant to discover 
how easy
     it is to make it at home. We have fixed this by 
itself as a
     dinner for two with enough left over for lunch. 
 Particu-
     larly when we add extra meat and vegetables, we 
find it a
     very hearty soup which is surprisingly easy to 
make.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4-6)
     1 Tbsp    peanut oil (or other vegetable oil)
     1         garlic clove
     1 tsp     ginger root (aboutr 2 slices)
     1/2 cup   boneless pork loin, shredded
     1 1/2 Tbsp
               soy sauce or tamari
     1/2 cup   bamboo shoots, shredded
     6         dried shiitake mushrooms
     10        dried lily buds (also called golden needles)
     12        dried tree ear fungus (also called cloud 
ears)
     4 cups    chicken broth (canned or homemade; I 
usually use
               canned)
     1 Tbsp    dry sherry
     3 Tbsp    red wine vinegar
     1 Tbsp    cornstarch
     1/4 cup   water
     1         tofu pad (a package generally contains 
2 pads)
     1/4 cup   green onions
     2         eggs
     1 Tbsp    toasted sesame oil
     1/4-1 tsp chili oil
     1/4 tsp   white pepper
               salt and more pepper
PROCEDURE
          (1)  Rehydrate the dried ingredients (15 minutes: 
 in
               lukewarm water for the shiitakes, and 
in boiling
               water for the lily buds and tree ears). 
 Heat the
               chicken broth (if it's canned, prepare 
it).
          (2)  Mince the garlic and ginger root and 
combine them.
               Shred the pork loin.  Shred the bamboo 
shoots.
               Combine the cornstarch and the water. 
 Chop the
               green onions.  Lightly beat the eggs.
          (3)  Heat oil in wok (medium), add the garlic 
and
               ginger, stirring 30 seconds.
          (4)  Add the pork, cooking until it loses 
its pink
               color.
          (5)  Add the soy sauce, cook for 1 minute 
more.
          (6)  Add bamboo shoots, shiitakes, lily buds, 
tree ear
               fungi, stir quickly for 1 minute.
          (7)  Stir in chicken broth, sherry, and vinegar.
          (8)  Stir cornstarch/water mix one last time 
and add it
               to the soup.
          (9)  Add the tofu and bring the soup to a 
boil.
          (10) Turn the heat to low, add the green onions.
          (11) Add the beaten eggs in a slow stream, 
stirring
               several times.
          (12) Turn off the heat and add the sesame 
oil, chili
               oil, white pepper. Season to taste and 
serve
               immediately.
NOTES
     Like many Chinese recipes, it takes longer to prepare 
the
     ingredients than it does to cook the soup.  As 
I understand
     it, hot and sour soup, traditionally, is a Northern 
Chinese
     way of using leftovers.  Therefore, there are many, 
many
     variations possible, particularly in the dried 
ingredients.
     We never make it exactly the same way twice.  I 
recommend
     using the shiitakes at least; most any grocery 
store has
     them. You may find tree ears and lily buds in an 
oriental
     food store.
RATING
     Difficulty: easy to moderate Time: about an hour 
Precision:
     no need to measure.
CONTRIBUTOR
     Dave Bartley
     John Fluke Mfg Co., Everett, Washington USA
     {sun,allegra,uw-beaver,lbl-csam}!fluke!dbb
     Path: decwrl!recipes
     From: rhorn@infinet (Rob Horn)
     Newsgroups: mod.recipes
     Subject: RECIPE: Hot and sour soup
     Message-ID: <6877@decwrl.DEC.COM>
     Date: 12 Dec 86 07:49:17 GMT
     Sender: recipes@decwrl.DEC.COM
     Organization: Infinet, North Andover, Mass., USA
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