America's Test Kitchen Hot Sour Soup

Pot Scrubber's Note:

To make slicing the pork chop easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. We prefer the distinctive flavor of Chinese black vinegar; look for it in Asian supermarkets. If you can't find it, a combination of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar approximates its flavor. This soup is very spicy. For a less spicy soup, omit the chili oil altogether or add only 1 teaspoon. Recipe stolen from the PBS cooking program America's Test Kitchen. This is an excellent soup.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 7 ounces extra firm tofu , drained
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch , plus an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons
• 1 (6 ounce) boneless center cut pork chops , about 1/2 inch thick and sliced in julienne strips
• 3 tablespoons cold water , plus 1 additional teaspoon
• 1 large egg
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup bamboo shoot , sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips (from one 5-ounce can)
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms , stems removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 cup)
• 5 tablespoons black vinegar (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar see note above)
• 2 teaspoons chili oil (see note above)
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 3 medium scallions , sliced thin

Directions:

1. Place tofu in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight with 2 heavy cans; let stand at least 15 minutes (tofu should release about 1/2 cup liquid). Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in medium bowl; toss pork with marinade and set aside for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30 minutes).
2. Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in small bowl and mix thoroughly; set aside, leaving spoon in bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch with remaining 1 teaspoon water in small bowl; add egg and beat with fork until combined. Set aside.
3. Bring broth to boil in large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. While broth simmers, dice tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Add tofu and pork, including marinade, to soup, stirring to separate any pieces of pork that stick together. Continue to simmer until pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, chili oil, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce; turn off heat.
5. Without stirring soup, use soupspoon to slowly drizzle very thin streams of egg mixture into pot in circular motion. Let soup sit 1 minute, then return saucepan to medium-high heat. Bring soup to gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat. Gently stir soup once to evenly distribute egg; ladle into bowls and top with scallions.

Reviews

[Pat Riddle]

GREAT recipe! DH and I made a special trip to the Asian Market for the ingredients and YUM! well worth the trip!! I used more chili oil than the recipe calls for and more vinegar and cornstarch as well because I really like it a bit thicker and a bit more sour, but WOW! Thanks for posting!!

[XxXxkittykat]

This is FABULOUS! Despite my wide culinary skills and experience as a home chef, I have always been afraid to make hot and sour soup because I thought it was "too hard" to make (i.e I wasn't sure about finding the ingredients). Boy was I wrong!!! This is simple to make with easy to follow instructions. I enjoyed this soup right after I made it and I was surprised at the level of flavor in such a short cooking time. I did not have black vinegar, but the substitution worked great and I also added extra. I also used half chicken broth, half beef broth and added an extra two cups of broth. In addition, I added some ground ginger, extra soy sauce, and a dash of black pepper, as well as using 1 tsp of chili paste in place of 2 tsp chili oil. This is a keeper and I will be making this again and again for years. THANKS!

[Deantini]

Your instructions are great; with all the mixing and stiring one could quickly get lost if the instructions were not so easy to follow. The soup itself is restaurant worthy and comes together easily. I loved the tip with the tofu and it drained well. Thanks for sharing. Made for the Diabetic Challenge - ZWT6 by Unrulies under the Influence!