Hot and Sour Soup
The classic takeout favorite made from scratch — silky, peppery, and tangy — from Tyler Florence.
Hot and Sour Soup
A from-scratch hot and sour soup with wood ears, bamboo shoots, barbecued pork, tofu, and a feathered egg finish.
Ingredients
Method
- Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain, rinse, and discard any hard clusters in the centers.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high. Add the ginger, chile paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir 1 minute to infuse the flavor.
- Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, white pepper, and sugar and pour it into the wok; toss together. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook 3 minutes.
- Stir the cornstarch slurry until smooth and mix it into the soup; simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in one direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten egg in a steady stream so it feathers into the broth.
- Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.
Notes
Chinese Chicken Stock (makes about 2 quarts): Put a 4-pound whole chicken in a large stockpot with 1 bunch green onions (halved), 4 smashed garlic cloves, a 3-inch piece of ginger whacked open, 1 halved onion, and 1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns. Add about 3 quarts cold water to cover by 1 inch. Simmer gently, uncovered, 1 hour, skimming the foam. Remove the chicken and strain the stock through cheesecloth. Cool before storing.