Hot and Sour Soup

My husband and I LOVE Hot and Sour Soup, however our favorite restaurant went out out of business, (for you locals I am talking about Shangri La).

I have been wanting to try and make it at home, and I finally did. It was fresh, light and according to my husband "restaurant quality but better". He loved it, which always makes me happy. The instructions are long, but in reality it is quite easy to make.

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 boneless, center-cut, pork loin chop (1/2 inch thick, about 6 ounces), trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch by 1/8-inch matchsticks, (if you freeze the meat for a few minutes it makes slicing easier)

3 tablespoons cold water, plus 1 additional teaspoon
1 large egg
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used regular and it worked just fine)
1 cup bamboo shoots (from one 5-ounce can), sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips
4 ounces fresh shitake mushrooms , stems removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 cup)
5 tablespoons black Chinese vinegar or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (you can get the vinegar at any Asian store)
2 teaspoons chili oil (If you don't like it spicy omit this)
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 medium scallions , sliced thin

Place tofu in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight with 2 heavy cans; let stand at least 15 minutes.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Without stirring soup, use soup spoon 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 and a drop or two of Hot Chili Oil if you are a spice lover.

Notes for next time: Be sure and get extra firm tofu, also 7 ounces was a bit much for us, use less tofu. Add Wood Ear Mushrooms.