HOT AND SOUR SOUP
1 min readPreparation & cooking time: 10–15 mins
Hot chillies should never be added to this soup – the hotness comes from liberal use of ground white pepper.
3–4 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked (see Glossary)
100g (4oz) pork or chicken (raw or pre-cooked)
50g (2oz) sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 cake bean-curd (tofu)
900ml (1½ pints) stock
1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon red or white rice vinegar
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon thick cornflour paste
1 teaspoon salt
⅓ teaspoon MSG (optional)
Squeeze dry the soaked mushrooms and discard any hard stalks. Thinly shred the mushrooms, meat, bamboo shoots and bean-curd.
Bring the stock to a rolling boil, stir in the mushrooms, meat, bamboo shoots and bean-curd, bring back to the boil, now add the wine, soy sauce, vinegar and pepper, bring back to the boil once more, then pour the beaten egg very slowly into the soup, stirring at the same time. Finally, stir in gently the cornflour paste to thicken the soup, before pouring it into a soup tureen with the salt and MSG, if using, at the bottom; blend well and serve hot!
