Hot & Sour Soup

Soup has always been a love of mine, something that brings a sense of comfort to me and never fails. Many of us connect the idea of soup to cold winter nights or being sick and a loved one bringing us a bowl of soup to make us feel better. As I got older, this idea that soup was only for a sick day wasn’t an idea I agreed with; I loved having soup as a light dinner or an appetizer for a large party.

Hot and sour soup is one of Philippine origin but has been adapted by many over the years. My version is based on the classic style but with a few flavor embellishments; just enough to amp up the umami of the dish. I hope you enjoy the taste of comfort I find in this dish, from my kitchen to yours.

PREP TIME: 5 minutes l COOK TIME: 15 minutes l TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 quartz low sodium chicken or vegetable stock

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil

• ½ teaspoon sesame oil

• 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms

  • you can use button mushrooms as well

• 1 small carrot, julienned

• 1 cup sliced bamboo shoots

• 1 cup baby corn, cut into bite size pieces

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons sambal

• 3 tablespoon cornstarch

• ½ cup water

• 1 chicken thigh, cut into bite size strips

• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced

• ½ tablespoon ginger, finely minced

• 2 scallions, cut on a bias

• 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

  • you can use ground black pepper if you don’t have white on hand.

• Salt, to taste

• For additional heat, you can add 1 or 2 fined chopped thai chilis at the end of the cooking process.

Makes: 6 servings

Directions

1. Prep all vegetables and chicken.

2. In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and sauté ginger, garlic and mushrooms till lightly browned.

3. Add the chicken stock to the pot, and be sure to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.

4. Stir in the pepper, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, sambal, chicken, and vegetables to the pot and cook covered for 5minutes on medium heat with the lid on.

5. Make a slurry by combining water and corn starch, removing all lumps, then add to the soup base and cook uncovered for another 5 minutes on high heat.

   • This would also be the best time to taste for salt. I added in 1 additional teaspoon but you may need more or less based on how salty the stock is.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk 1 large until uniformed (like if you were making an omelet).

7. Bring the heat down to low and slowly begin to stream in the egg, while whisking the egg with a fork inside the pot; whisking with the fork on low heat with create feathers of egg rather than scrambled egg.

8. Stir in the sesame oil, cilantro, scallions and allow the soup to simmer on low for 2-3 minutes to combine and serve hot!

   Sprinkle scallions or cilantro on top for garnish.