Got the H/S soup recipe handy?
From Rhoda Yee
Her book “Szechwan and Northern Cooking: From Hot To Cold” is worth it’s weight in gold!
Hot and sour soup
1 cup pork butt, thinly sliced
Meat marinade;
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sherry
24 dried lily buds
5-6 oriental mushrooms(whatever type I have)
1/2 cup Szechwan pickled mustard (delicious stuff!)
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots
1 cake firm tofu
1 qt chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper, finely ground
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp dark soy(I like mushroom soy sauce)
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp H2O
2 eggs, beaten
1/2-1 tsp hot chili oil
2 tsp sesame oil
Prep; mix meat with marinade for 15 minutes. Soak lily buds with mushrooms for 1 hour. Cut of shroom stems, and slice caps, bamboo shoots, pickled mustard, and tofu into matchsticks. I tie the lily buds into knots, the nip off the tough ends.
Cooking; Bring stock to boil. Add pork, lily buds, shrooms, shoots, mustard, and tofu. When stock returns to boil, add soy sauce, white pepper, vinegar, and salt. Drizzle the cornstarch/water mixture into the soup, stirring until thickened. Remove from heat, add beaten eggs and stir slowly until eggs separate into strands. Taste to see if soup is the right degree of hot and sour, and adjust seasoning by adding hot chili oil if required. Add sesame oil just before serving. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Lotta work, but worth every minute! I always am asked to make it for my Chinese friends. Lotsa compliments!