HOT AND SOUR SOUP RECIPES

Steps:

• Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
• Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
• Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.
• Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns. Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
• Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
• Yield: About 2 quarts

Steps:

• Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water, stirring occasionally, until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well and slice into thin strips.
• Whisk soy sauce, vinegar, ground white pepper, and sesame oil together in a small bowl for hot and sour mixture; set aside until needed.
• Whisk cornstarch and water together in another small bowl for slurry; set aside until needed.
• Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger, sliced green onions, and shiitake mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and bring up to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir in carrot, red pepper, bamboo shoots, tofu, and the hot and sour mixture. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
• Raise heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Stir the soup slowly with a spoon while transferring in the beaten eggs in a steady stream to create thin ribbons. Keep stirring until the soup comes back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.
• Stir the cornstarch slurry to make sure it's well blended, then slowly drizzle it into the soup while stirring constantly. Soup should thicken up within 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat, taste for seasoning, and serve.