Friday, September 23, 2011

Hot and Sour Soup

I learned to love hot and sour soup in a little restaurant in southeast Missouri. Probably not the mecca of Asian cooking, but this place was where I was introduced to somewhat authentic Chinese cuisine.  And it's been the gold standard for me ever since.  I can't say this soup was good as what I remember from all those years ago, but it definitely cured my craving, using ingredients I could find in any grocery store.




This took me back to getting that first whiff of Mr. Kim's soup and knowing pretty soon my eyes would be watering and my nose would be running.  That's a sign of a good soup right there.  I found this recipe at a blog called Cookin' With Cyndi and changed it up quite a bit to suit what I had on hand.  If you need your sinuses cleaned out, whip some up and start sniffing!


8 oz. fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used baby bellas)
3/4 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
32 oz. chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/4 cup water, divided
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/4 cup rice vinegar
sriracha sauce or chili oil to taste 
1 tbsp soy sauce
fresh ground black pepper
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 tsp sesame oil

Combine broth and 2 cups of water, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes and bring to a boil.  Add mushrooms and cabbage and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add vinegar, soy sauce, white and black pepper, and sriracha.  Simmer about 5 more minutes.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup water with cornstarch and stir into broth mixture.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer 3 more minutes.  Slowly pour in eggs in a steady stream while stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in onions and sesame oil.  

*this is my version, you can click the link above to get the original at Cyndi's website


Served with an unphotogenic brown fried rice, it was a pretty nice meal.  To me anyway, not sure the family was as into it as I was.



So, is anyone out there doing the Google+ thing?  I'm there but it's kinda lonely.  

11 comments:

The JR said...

Hot and sour is my favorite.

Velva said...

My husband really enjoys hot and sour soup too. I will have to share your post with him.

Have a great weekend.

Velva

pam said...

I love hot and sour soup! I've only tried to make it a couple of times.

Anonymous said...

I'm also a lover of hot and sour soup but have never actually made it myself. This would be a great soup to eat if you have a cold! My husband just got over one, I should have made this for him.

theUngourmet said...

I love hot and sour soup...haven't had any in ages and I've never tried making my own. I want to try this for sure!

I'm trying to get on the Google thing with you but I can't seem to get logged on. Still trying. :)

Have a great week!

The Blonde Duck said...

Yum!

Pam said...

I love hot and sour soup... it looks delicious.

Chris said...

Jeeze, I'm making Asian chicken and a broccoli/carrot stir fry tonight...I wish I had seen this earlier. :(

teresa said...

oh yum! i love hot and sour soup, this looks awesome!

Kim said...

Never had hot and sour soup before, but it definitely looks and sounds like something I would love.

No idea what google+ is. Will have to check it out.

Kristen said...

That soup would be perfect on a yucky, cold day. I love the ginger and spices!

I am on Google+, but haven't decided if it's going anywhere.