Hot and Sour Soup 酸辣湯

Nguyên liệu

• 100 g Pork blood (, julienned)
• 100 g Pork (, julienned (pork tenderloin is preferable))
• 100 g Tofu (, julienned)
• 60 g Fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 80 g Carrot (, julienned)
• 20 g Jinhua ham (, julienned)
• 50 g Bamboo shoots (, julienned)
• 5 g Dried black fungus (, reconstituted, julienned (aka dried wood ear mushrooms))
• 1 Large egg
• 2 tbsp Potato starch
• 4 tbsp Water ((for slurry))
• 1.5 L Broth ((chicken broth works well))
• 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 2 tbsp White vinegar
• 6 g Rock sugar
• 1 ½ tsp White pepper powder
• ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn powder ((optional for added heat but it’s not added traditionally))
• 1 tbsp Rice wine
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 1 tsp Salt ((adjust to account for saltiness of broth))
• 1 tsp Potato Starch ((for pork marinade))
• 1 tsp Light soy sauce ((for pork marinade))
• ½ tsp Sugar ((for pork marinade))
• 1 tsp Oil ((for pork marinade))
• ½ stalk Green onions (for garnish, chopped)

Cách làm

1. 1

   Soak black fungus in water to reconstitute. You can do this overnight or just one hour before slicing. If using dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in water overnight for best results

2. 2

   Julienne pork blood, pork, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, Jinhua ham, bamboo shoots and black fungus. Put the pork and Jinhua ham in separate bowls respectively. The rest can be put together and blanched in step 5 I used spicy preserved bamboo shoots and it worked quite well. In very high end restaurants, these ingredients are julienned very finely to showcase the chef’s knife skills. My slicing shows that I have no knife skills!

3. 3

   Marinate the pork using 1 tsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp sugar, 1 tsp potato starch and 1 tsp oil. Mix well and set aside

4. 4

   Beat one large egg and set aside

5. 5

   Boil a pot of water for blanching. Once the water boils, add pork blood, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots and black fungus.

6. 6

   Once the water boils again, remove the contents and set aside.

7. 7

   Make a slurry with 2 tbsp potato starch and 4 tbsp water. Mix well and set aside

8. 8

   Pour the broth into a pot and add the blanched ingredients (pork blood, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots and black fungus), 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 ½ tsp white pepper powder, ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn (optional) and 6 g rock sugar. Bring to a boil

9. 9

   Turn the heat down to medium, add Jinhua ham and pork. Give it one gentle stir to submerse the pork and scatter them evenly. Cover with lid and cook for 4 minutes

10. 10

    Add 1 tbsp black vinegar and 2 tbsp white vinegar. Taste test. Add salt, light soy sauce, black vinegar if necessary. Turn heat down to low

11. 11

    Give the slurry a mix and slowly pour into the soup while stirring at the same time.

12. 12

    Be sure that the soup is simmering. Add beaten egg slowly into the soup while gently pushing the soup from one end of the pot to the other end in one direction with a ladle. Or you can stir slowly in one direction. If you stir using back and forth movement, you will break the egg ribbon effect

13. 13

    At this point, you can add more slurry if you would like it thicker

14. 14

    Add 1 tsp sesame oil and garnish with chopped green onions and serve