Description:
Are you guys also tired of the not-so-good hot & sour soup you get at Chinese restaurants? Boy, this is so easy to make, you would never want hot & sour soup anywhere else!
Oh and one more thing... uhm, the real authentic version contains pork blood (looks like black tofu). well, I didn't include any. But if you really really really want some... add it in with the tofu.
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
1/2 lb lean pork cut into strips
1 small carrot skinned and grated
1/2 cup of of shitake mushroom sliced
1/2 cup of wood ears sliced
4 ~ 6 cans of chicken broth depending on the amount of soup you want to make
*1 package of julienned preserved mustard (Zha-Tsai 榨菜)*
*1 can of sliced bamboo shoot*
*1 package/can of needle mushrooms(Jin-Zhen Mushrooms 金針菇)*
* cilantro or green onion chopped*
1 box of soft tofu cubed
1 egg beaten
1 cup of corn starch or tapioca starch
Seasoning:
soy sauce
white pepper
*for extra spicy, you can also add chili oil. Some white pepper comes in extra spicy*
sesame oil
vegetable oil
vinegar
salt
Instructions:
- Boil the chicken broth in a large pot.
- Marinate the pork slices in a little bit of soy sauce, white pepper, and sesame oil.
- In a frying pan, heat some vegetable oil, add pork and stir fry until cooked.
- Add the rest of the ingredients into the pan EXCEPT: tofu, egg, starch. Stir fry until hot, then throw them all into the boiling chicken broth in the big pot.
- When the soup boils, add the tofu.
- Add vinegar, white pepper, salt and taste it until you are satisfied with the flavor.
- Add some water to the corn starch to make starchy water, and then slowly pour it into the pot while stirring the soup.
- Remove from the heat, and then slowly pour in the egg while gently stirring the soup.
- You can add some chopped cilantro or green onions before serving.
Needle Mushrooms, Jin-Zhen Mushrooms 金針菇This type of mushrooms really doesn't have much taste. People like it because it's stringy and chewy. You can buy this from any oriental market and it usually comes in a can, or fresh in a package. But if you get the fresh package, make sure to chop off the root where there is a lot of dirt.
Preserved mustard, Zha-Tsai 榨菜This is a very salty vegetable. You can buy this from any oriental market and it usually comes in a package, 2 or 4 for $1. It comes in spicy and regular, you can use either one.
Shitake MushroomThis is the most popular mushroom used in Taiwan. They have a stronger aroma than the regular mushrooms and usually come dried in a package that you can pick up in oriental markets. To chop them, simply soak them in warm water for a few mins and they'll turn soft. If you absolutely can't find these, you can replace them with any other mushrooms.
Wood EarIt's actually a type of mushroom. It provides a bit of a crunchy texture to the egg rolls. You can pick this up in an Oriental market. They come in chunks like this or pre-sliced, but they're dried so you'll have to soak them in water for about 15 mins to soften them.
Tofu Brand: This dish doesn't taste as good if the tofu is not soft enough. The brand that I found the best comes in a box that looks like this