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Sour - And - Hot Soup
(Suan - Ia - T'ang)
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| What You Need: |
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4 dried Chinese mushrooms, 1 to 1½ inches in diameter
2 squares, 3 inches each, fresh Chinese bean curd, about ½ inch thick
½ cup canned bamboo shoots
¼ pound boneless pork
1 quart chicken stock, fresh or canned
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sesame-seed oil
1 scallion, including the green top, finery chopped
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| How To Cook: |
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PREPARE AHEAD:
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1. In a small bowl, cover the mushrooms with ½ cup of warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Discard the water.
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2. With a cleaver or knife, cut away and discard the tough stems of the mushrooms, and shred the caps by placing one at a time on a chopping board. Cut them horizontally into paper-thin slices, and then into thin strips.
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3. Drain the pieces of bamboo shoot and bean curd, and rinse them in cold water. Shred them as fine as the mushrooms.
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4. With a cleaver or sharp knife, trim the pork of all fat. Then shred it, too, by slicing the meat as thin as possible and cutting the slices into narrow strips about 1½ to 2 inches long.
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5. Have the above ingredients, stock, salt, soy sauce, pepper, vinegar, cornstarch mixture, egg, sesame-seed oil and scallions within easy reach.
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TO COOK:
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1. Combine in a heavy 3-quart saucepan the stock, salt, soy sauce, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and pork. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and simmer for 3 minutes.
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2. Drop in the bean curd, and the pepper and vinegar. Bring to a boil again. Give the cornstarch mixture a stir to recombine it and pour it into the soup.
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3. Stir for a few seconds until the soup thickens, then slowly pour in the beaten egg, stirring gently all the while. Remove the soup from the heat and ladle it into a tureen or serving bowl.
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4. Stir in the sesame-seed oil and sprinkle the top with scallions. Serve at once.
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