With the pandemic still raging, it’s been one year since I step foot in a Chinese restaurant. Many of the Chinese restaurants do not offer outdoor dining and we did not want to take any risk with indoor dining. I decided to prepare Hot and Sour Soup at home, it is one of our favorite items on the Chinese restaurant menu. This recipe is hot, sour, spicy, and loaded with goodies. Definitely a hearty soup to keep us warm in this wintry weather.

Ingredients

• 5 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup char siew, thinly sliced
• 1 cup thinly sliced rehydrated woodear mushrooms
• 1 cup thinly sliced rehydrated shitake mushooms
• 5 dried seeded chilli pods, minced
• 1 cup thinly sliced bamboo shoots
• 1 cup thinly sliced five spice tofu
• 1 cup thinly sliced firm tofu
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg
• chopped green onions for garnish

Directions

1. Bring chicken stock to a broil in a medium size pot over high heat.
2. Add the woodear, shitake muchrooms and minced chilli pods and bring to a boil again, simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Add the five spice tofu, firm tofu, bamboo shoots, sliced char siew, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar, and ground pepper. Bring to a boil again. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
4. With the soup simmering, add the cornstarch slurry to the soup slowly while stirring the soup in a circular motion. The soup will thicken to coat the back of the ladle.
5. Beat the egg and add to the soup in the same manner.
6. Serve hot in a serve bowl and garnish with chopped green onions.