Hot and Sour Soup

Name: Hot and Sour Soup
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 3 dried shiitake mushrooms; 4 g dried wood ear fungus; 6 dried lily buds; 50 g pork loin; 1 tsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp cornflour; 70 g firm tofu; 30 g bamboo shoots; 300 ml chicken stock; 2 tsp light soy sauce; 0.5 tsp ground white pepper; 0.25 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp caster sugar; 1 tbsp cornflour; 2 tbsp cold water; 1 egg; 1.5 tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar; 0.5 tsp toasted sesame oil; 0.5 tsp chilli oil; 1 spring onion

The classic Beijing-style suan la tang: a peppery, vinegar-sharp chicken broth thick with slivers of pork, tofu, wood ear and shiitake, finished with ribbons of egg and a slick of sesame and chilli oil.

Snacks Lunch & dinner 25g+ protein

50 min35 prep · 15 cookMedium458 kcalper serving

Method

Put 3 dried shiitake, 4 g dried wood ear and 6 dried lily buds in a bowl, cover generously with just-boiled water and soak 30 minutes until fully soft and swollen. Lift them out and reserve the soaking liquid, letting the grit settle at the bottom.
Squeeze the mushrooms dry, cut out the woody shiitake stems and slice the caps into 3 mm strips; trim any hard nubs from the wood ear and shred it; pinch off the tough tips of the lily buds and tear each in half. Cut 70 g firm tofu and 30 g bamboo shoots into matchsticks the same size as the mushroom strips — even shreds are the mark of a good suan la tang.
Slice 50 g pork loin into fine strips and toss with 1 tsp Shaoxing wine and 1 tsp cornflour until the meat feels slippery. Leave 10 minutes; this velveting keeps it tender in the broth. Beat 1 egg in a small cup and stir 1 tbsp cornflour into 2 tbsp cold water for the slurry.
Pour 300 ml chicken stock into a small saucepan and add the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, poured off carefully to leave the grit behind. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, add the shiitake, wood ear, lily buds and bamboo shoots and simmer 5 minutes so the broth takes on their flavour.