Enkelhet← Back
Hot and Sour Soup
Takeout-style hot and sour soup from the Leung family's restaurant, with pork, tofu, mushrooms and egg ribbons. Prep everything first, as it cooks fast. Adjust heat with white pepper and sourness with white vinegar (not black or rice vinegar). Lily flowers can be omitted; fresh mushrooms can stand in for dried. Recipe by Sarah Leung, The Woks of Life (thewoksoflife.com/hot-sour-soup/).
0 of 19 steps done — tap a step to check it off as you cook
1
Make the Marinated Pork and set aside.
2
Cut 1Dried Red Chili Peppers (optional; use 1–2) in half, discard the seeds and mince.
3
In separate bowls, soak 8 gDried Lily Flowers, 8 gDried Wood Ear Mushrooms and 8 gShiitake Mushrooms (dried) in about 240 ml water each for 1–2 hours until hydrated. Hot water, like brewing tea, speeds this up a lot.
4
Thinly slice the shiitake and roughly chop the wood ears. Trim the tough ends off the lily flowers and cut them in half. Discard the soaking water.
5
Cut 85 gSpiced Dry Tofu and 115 gFirm Tofu into pieces about 5 cm long and 5 mm thick.
6
Julienne 115 gBamboo Shoots.
7
Beat 1Egg (large) in a small bowl. Finely chop 1Green Onions.
8
Bring 1900 mlChicken Stock (low sodium) to a boil in a wok or pot.
9
If the pork has clumped, loosen it with 1 tbspWater (optional). Stir the pork into the stock and quickly break up any clumps.
10
When the soup simmers again, skim off any foam with a fine-mesh strainer.
11
Add 1/2 tspSalt, 1/4 tspSugar, the minced chili (if using), 1 tspWhite Pepper (freshly ground; up to 2 tsp to taste), 2 tspDark Soy Sauce (or mushroom soy sauce), 1 tbspSoy Sauce (light or seasoned) and 1 tspSesame Oil.
12
Add the lily flowers, wood ears, shiitake and bamboo shoots and bring back to a simmer.
13
Stir in both tofus and 80 mlWhite Vinegar (distilled; up to 120 ml to taste).
14
Mix 1/3 cupCornstarch with 60 mlWater into a smooth slurry. Stir again just before using, as the starch settles.
15
With the soup simmering, stir it in a steady circle to make a whirlpool and slowly drizzle in about three quarters of the slurry, so it doesn't clump. Keep stirring until it simmers again.
16
Check the thickness: it should coat a spoon. Add the rest of the slurry if you like it thicker.
17
Taste and adjust: more white pepper for heat, more vinegar for sourness.
18
Keep the soup bubbling (otherwise it turns cloudy) and stir in a slow circle. Slowly drizzle in the beaten egg, fast enough that it doesn't clump but slow enough to form ribbons.
19
Serve garnished with the chopped green onion.
Sub-recipes
Sub-recipeMarinated Pork
1
Mix 115 gPork (shoulder, finely julienned) with 1 tbspWater until the meat absorbs the water.
2
Add 1 pinchSalt, 2 tspCanola Oil (vegetable oil) and 1 tspCornstarch and mix until combined.