Marty Feins' Hot Sour Soup
Submitted by Shellbell7235
Hot and sour soup with shredded pork, chicken, tofu, cloud ears, and golden needles in a rice vinegar broth thickened with cornstarch and finished with egg ribbons.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
15 minREADY
45 minThis hot and sour soup goes beyond the takeout version with cloud ears (wood ear mushrooms), golden needles (dried tiger lily buds), and both shredded pork and chicken for a double-meat richness that most recipes skip.
The sour punch comes from six tablespoons of rice vinegar mixed with white pepper, hot oil, and sesame oil into a separate bowl that gets stirred in at the very end, off the heat. Building the sour component separately like this keeps the vinegar sharp and bright instead of letting it cook down and go flat.
Cornstarch does double duty here. Two tablespoons coat the shredded meat with the sherry for a velveting effect that keeps it silky in the broth, while the remaining five tablespoons thicken the soup itself. Use the soaking water from the cloud ears and golden needles to mix that cornstarch slurry since it carries extra flavor.
Beaten eggs get drizzled in at the end in a slow stream to form those classic wispy ribbons.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak cloud ears and golden needles for a full 20 minutes. They need that time to rehydrate completely or they’ll be chewy
- Shred the pork and chicken into thin matchstick-sized strips so they cook through in just one minute of boiling
- Stir the soup gently in one direction when adding the eggs. Stirring too aggressively breaks the ribbons into bits
- Serve in heated bowls so the soup stays hot at the table
Variations
- Add shredded bamboo shoots for extra crunch (already included in the ingredient list)
- Increase the white pepper and hot oil for a spicier version
- Substitute shrimp for the pork for a lighter seafood take
Ingredients
Directions
Soak ears and needles 20 minutes in warm water, save water.
Shred ears, halve needles.
Shred chicken, pork, combine with 2 tablespoon cornstarch and sherry, set aside.
Combine vinegar, pepper, hot oil and sesame oil in bowl and set aside.
Boil chicken stock, salt and soy, add pork-chicken mixture, boil 1 minute, add tofu, needles and ears.
Boil 1 minute, mix rest of cornstarch with water and add to soup. (Use water from ears and needles for mixing).
Lower heat, add vinegar mixture, adjust seasoning.
Slowly stir in beaten eggs, garnish with cut scallions.
Serve in heated bowls.
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