Hot and Sour Soup

Chard, not seaweed. But that would be good too.

I've tried a few different recipes for hot and sour soup, and they've always just left me wishing that I had gotten Chinese takeout instead. But this one! This one is good! And that's even without the white pepper, which sources say is the most important ingredient. (I'll buy some before next time.)

I followed this recipe from Amy in the Kitchen, because she has my name, and also because the recipe looked straightforward and had no pork in it. The only changes I made were to use vegetable broth instead of beef broth, dried shiitakes instead of regular mushrooms, and I scaled down all of the amounts. I also added chard this time, because it is exploding in the garden and I'm adding it to every meal. And as previously mentioned, I didn't have any white pepper, but I've kept it in the instructions below because I trust the internet that it will make it even better.

The Recipe:

4 c vegetable broth

2 dried shiitake mushrooms

2.5 tb soy sauce

2.5 tb rice vinegar

1 tsp sriracha sauce

2/3 tsp ground white pepper

2 tb corn starch

2 tb cold water

1 egg, beaten

4 oz firm tofu, cut into strips

1 green onion, sliced

optional: chard or kale, sliced into ribbons

• Place broth, dried mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, and white pepper in a medium pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer until mushrooms are softened (about 15 minutes).
• In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water. Stir it into the soup and increase the heat to medium for 5 minutes, until soup starts to thicken.
• Pour beaten egg into soup while stirring the soup gently to form long ribbons.
• Add tofu and optional greens, and cook for 1 more minute.
• Add green onions and serve.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A

Overall reason: It tastes like restaurant soup! Finally!

Time to prepare: 30 minutes

Kindergartener quote: (after tasting one bite) "I like it, but not enough to have more."