Well, it's been a while. Matt and I have both been pretty sick with the cold. Matt's still recovering, actually. But when we were sick this week, it was always nice to come home to a pot of hot and sour soup that I had--thank goodness--made on Monday before the symptoms set in.
The weather's getting cooler, so cold season will soon be upon us. Get ready with this recipe and the Toddy recipes to come.
I found this incredible recipe for hot and sour soup on simply recipes' website, and I highly recommend reading the post. It's very insightful regarding the central components of hot and sour soup. http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hot_and_sour_soup/
I did make a few modifications to it, like adding minced fresh ginger and garlic to make it more 'healthful.' And I dump in whatever mushrooms I can find.
If you have chicken, that would also be very good in it. We just didn't have any on hand, and when I feel a sickness coming on, I didn't want to deal with cooking some chicken. But I suppose we should be buying chicken and adding it to the soup. As Tevye the milkman said, When a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick.
Speaking of which, Fiddler on the roof is a great film to watch, whether you are sick or not.
By the way, I've seen that movie about a thousand times in the past 10 years of my life, and I just recently realized what this quote means.
For all the other shlemiels out there, the saying means that either the man is sick so he will spend the money on a chicken to help him get well, or the chicken is sick so it was cheaper for the man to buy.
Anyway, back to the soup recipe.
Matt, our friend Stephen, and I all think this is probably the best hot and sour soup we've had. Ever.
I'll add a picture later tonight.
Ingredients:
4 quarts water
6 chicken bouillon cubes (each intended for 2 cups) (Or just use 12 cups of chicken stock)
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
3 tsp chili oil (cut down if you don't want it very spicy - this stuff is pretty potent)
1 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp lime or lemon juice (WARNING: I love super sour soup, so if you don't, you can leave this out, and you might want to cut down on the vinegars as well)
1-2 tsp ground white pepper
1-2 tbsp crushed red pepper (leave out if you don't want it very spicy)
2 groups green onions (about 10-12 onions)
2 packages enoki mushrooms
1 lb shiitake mushrooms (or whatever kind you want)
10-15 black fungus mushrooms (you can find these dried at Asian markets)
10-15 lily buds (you can find these dried at Asian markets as well)
4-5 cloves garlic
1 squared inch of fresh ginger
1 19-oz block of firm tofu (please buy at an Asian market for a third of the price of your regular grocer)
1 large can of sliced bamboo shoots
2-3 eggs
fresh cilantro (I love this stuff, so I used two bunches, plus a third bunch for a fresh garnish)
Directions:
Heat approximately 4 quarts of water in a large stock pot. Go ahead and dump the bouillon cubes in there. Bring it to a slow simmer and stir, making sure the cubes dissolve.
Add the soy sauce, vinegars, oils, lemon/lime juice, white pepper, and crushed red pepper. This may be accomplished without any ceremony.
Let the mix simmer a bit. You can taste it as you go and add to it if it is not to your liking.
Go ahead and slice the green onions, and mince the garlic and ginger while you're waiting on that.
Once the broth has simmered a few minutes, ladle some into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add the lily buds and black fungus to the small saucepan so that they can rehydrate. (You can use just water for this, but I like them to soak up the flavors of the soup).
When they are nice and plump (as in, not dried anymore), dice the lily buds and slice the black fungus. Add these and the garlic, ginger, and onions to the soup.
Dump the tofu water out, and dice/slice the tofu into strips or bite-size pieces and dumpt it in the pot.
Wash and slice the shiitake mushrooms, chop the enoki mushrooms, chop some fresh cilantro, and open the can of bamboo shoots. Dump it all into the pot.
*Note: It is best to clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel, one by one, instead of rinsing them in water. Mushrooms soak up water quickly, so if you rinse them, they won't soak up as much of the soup flavors when you put them in the soup.
Let it simmer a bit.
Bring it to a boil one last time. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until they break, as though you were going to scramble them. When the soup is boiling, pour the beaten eggs into the pot, stirring slowly, so that they can "feather" into the soup. Lovely.
Ladle into serving bowls and top with some fresh cilantro.
Eat up and feel better (whether you're sick with the cold or not)!
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