ISO: Hot and Sour Soup (Chinese soup) recipe

[jliah]

My kids have had Hot and Sour Soup at some Chinese buffets and really loved it. It is a very spicy soup with some unusual ingredients in it. Does anyone have this recipe? I'm especially interested if it is low-fat. Thanks so much.

[Vanessa]

From Cooking Light
Hot-and-Sour Soup
For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth and add a little extra tofu to replace the pork.

10 dried shiitake mushrooms (about 1 ounce)
11/2 cups boiling water
3 (101/2-ounce) cans low-salt chicken broth
1 (4-ounce) boned center-cut loin pork chop, cut into thin strips
4 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup minced green onion tops
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil


Combine the mushrooms and boiling water in a bowl; cover and let stand 15 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup liquid. Discard stems; rinse and cut caps into thin strips. Combine 1/2 cup reserved mushroom liquid and broth in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Add the mushrooms, pork, and tofu; reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup reserved mushroom liquid, cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and peppers in a small bowl. Add cornstarch mixture to saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in onions and oil.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 11/4 cups).

[jliah]

Vanessa, I couldn't believe how quickly you replied to my question. Thank you SO much. My kids will be so grateful. (Actually, I really like this soup too, or I wouldn't have asked for the recipe!) I was glad it was a Cooking Light recipe.

[Vanessa]

Glad I was of help http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Kristi]

jliah-- just wondering how the stir fry chicken turned out?? That's one I've been wanting to try.

[jliah]

Kristi, we really liked the Sichuan-Style chicken recipe. I'm planning to make it again sometime. It had a strong ginger flavor (which I love). I made a few changes: I couldn't find the rice wine or sake, so I found out on this bulletin board that you could substitute an equal amount of sherry plus 1/2 t. sugar per T of sherry. I used the Worcestershire sauce rather than the Chinese black vinegar (as listed on the recipe). The rice recipe on that page was good also. That was truly the fluffiest rice I've ever made. I think it needed a little salt though if you eat it plain.

There are other postings about this recipe on this bulletin board in case you want to run a search on it. That's why I tried it because others had rated it so well.

[jliah]

Vanessa, we tried this soup for lunch today and really enjoyed it. I did make some changes in the recipe. I only used 1/2 ounce of mushrooms because they were SO expensive. I also doubled the crushed red pepper because we like things really HOT. I couldn't find the fish sauce anywhere, and so I had to omit that. I doubled the tofu because I didn't have any other use for it. Despite all my changes, it was a great soup. I served it with this month's CL Sichuan-Style Stir-fried Chicken with Peanuts.