Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Ingredients

Amount		Ingredient	Preparation
3	each	wood ears	dried
20	each	lily buds, dried
3	cups	water	hot
1/4	pound	pork shoulder butt
Marinade
1/2	teaspoon	rice wine	or dry sherry
1/2	teaspoon	cornstarch
1	teaspoon	sesame oil
1	teaspoon	salt
2	ounces	mushrooms	fresh, sliced
1/4	cup	bamboo shoots	shredded
1	each	bean curd	sliced
2	tablespoons	worcestershire sauce
2	teaspoons	white vinegar
5	tablespoons	cornstarch
5	tablespoons	water
1	each	egg	beaten
1/2	teaspoon	black pepper
1/2	teaspoon	white pepper
1	tablespoon	sesame oil
6 1/2	cups	chicken broth	or white stock
1/4	cup	water chestnuts

Directions

Soak wood ears and lily buds in 3 cups hot water 15 minutes to soften.

Remove stems from softened wood ears. Shred wood ears with a cleaver.

Slice pork into thin strips. Use a cleaver to chop strips into shreds.

Combine marinade ingredients in a small bowl. Add pork shreds; mix well.

Let stand 15 minutes. Combine chicken broth and salt in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium.

Add mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, wood ears and lily buds to broth.

Simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Add pork shreds with marinade and bean curd.

Bring to a boil. Add worcestershire sauce and vinegar, if desired.

Dissolve cornstarch in 5 tablespoons water to make a paste.

Slowly stir into soup. Cook over medium heat until soup thickens slightly.

Stir egg into soup. Add black pepper, white pepper and sesame oil.