slavitch@uunet.UU.NET (Michael Slavitch) (10/04/90)
In-reply-to: mb@princeton.edu's message of 3 Oct 90 22:15:22 GMT there are two recipes here.... ---------------- cut ------------------------------------ HOTSOUR-SOUP-1(SP) USENET Cookbook HOTSOUR-SOUP-1(SP) HOT AND SOUR SOUP HOTSOUR-SOUP-1 - Szechuan hot and sour soup I have seldom been to a Chinese restaurant without having hot and sour soup, and it was pleasant to discover how easy it is to make it at home. We have fixed this by itself as a dinner for two with enough left over for lunch. Particu- larly when we add extra meat and vegetables, we find it a very hearty soup which is surprisingly easy to make. INGREDIENTS (Serves 4-6) 1 Tbsp peanut oil (or other vegetable oil) 1 garlic clove 1 tsp ginger root (aboutr 2 slices) 1/2 cup boneless pork loin, shredded 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, shredded 6 dried shiitake mushrooms 10 dried lily buds (also called golden needles) 12 dried tree ear fungus (also called cloud ears) 4 cups chicken broth (canned or homemade; I usually use canned) 1 Tbsp dry sherry 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 Tbsp cornstarch 1/4 cup water 1 tofu pad (a package generally contains 2 pads) 1/4 cup green onions 2 eggs 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil 1/4-1 tsp chili oil 1/4 tsp white pepper salt and more pepper PROCEDURE (1) Rehydrate the dried ingredients (15 minutes: in lukewarm water for the shiitakes, and in boiling water for the lily buds and tree ears). Heat the chicken broth (if it's canned, prepare it). (2) Mince the garlic and ginger root and combine them. Shred the pork loin. Shred the bamboo shoots. Combine the cornstarch and the water. Chop the green onions. Lightly beat the eggs. (3) Heat oil in wok (medium), add the garlic and ginger, stirring 30 seconds. (4) Add the pork, cooking until it loses its pink color. Last change: 4 Mar 86 1 HOTSOUR-SOUP-1 USENET Cookbook HOTSOUR-SOUP-1 (5) Add the soy sauce, cook for 1 minute more. (6) Add bamboo shoots, shiitakes, lily buds, tree ear fungi, stir quickly for 1 minute. (7) Stir in chicken broth, sherry, and vinegar. (8) Stir cornstarch/water mix one last time and add it to the soup. (9) Add the tofu and bring the soup to a boil. (10) Turn the heat to low, add the green onions. (11) Add the beaten eggs in a slow stream, stirring several times. (12) Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil, chili oil, white pepper. Season to taste and serve immediately. NOTES Like many Chinese recipes, it takes longer to prepare the ingredients than it does to cook the soup. As I understand it, hot and sour soup, traditionally, is a Northern Chinese way of using leftovers. Therefore, there are many, many variations possible, particularly in the dried ingredients. We never make it exactly the same way twice. I recommend using the shiitakes at least; most any grocery store has them. You may find tree ears and lily buds in an oriental food store. RATING Difficulty: easy to moderate Time: about an hour Precision: no need to measure. CONTRIBUTOR Dave Bartley John Fluke Mfg Co., Everett, Washington USA {sun,allegra,uw-beaver,lbl-csam}!fluke!dbb Last change: 4 Mar 86 2 -------------- cut ---------------------------------------- HOTSOUR-SOUP-2(SP) USENET Cookbook HOTSOUR-SOUP-2(SP) HOT AND SOUR SOUP HOTSOUR-SOUP-2 - Popular Szechuan Chinese soup I learned this recipe while taking Szechuan cooking classes. This soup is very popular in this country. It comes in a great many varieties, and can range from very mild to very spicy, and from a soup to almost a stew. This particular recipe is a medium spicy soup that should be within most peoples' tolerance range. INGREDIENTS (serves 6-8) 1 cup bean curd, cut into small cubes. 1/4 cup bamboo shoot, shredded 1/4 cup golden needles (tiger lily pods) 2 Tbsp wood ear fungus shredded 1/4 cup black mushroom 1 egg, well beaten 4 oz very lean pork, shredded MIXTURE A 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp cornstarch MIXTURE B 6 cups chicken stock 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp MSG (optional) 1 tsp sugar MIXTURE C 3 Tbsp cornstarch 3 Tbsp water MIXTURE D 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 2 Tbsp vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp chili oil 1/2 tsp black pepper (fresh ground) 1/2 tsp white pepper (fresh ground) 3 Tbsp scallion, or green onion, chopped 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped (Do not use powdered ginger). PROCEDURE (1) Put the golden needles, wood ear, and black mush- room to soak in separate bowls of water. It takes 30 to 60 minutes for them to be ready. After soak- ing, the wood ear should be a flexible and flat material. It may have a few hard lumps; cut these off and discard them. Discard the soaking liquids. (2) Meanwhile, prepare mixtures A,C, and D. Place their ingredients in bowls, and mix well. When Last change: 1 Aug 86 1 HOTSOUR-SOUP-2 USENET Cookbook HOTSOUR-SOUP-2 mixing with cornstarch, add the liquid slowly to the cornstarch. This avoids getting undissolved cornstarch balls. (3) Shred the pork. This pork must be very lean. The meat portion of pork cutlets or the center of pork chops are good sources. Shredding means cutting the pork into pieces about the size of wooden matches. (1/4 inch square by 1-2 inches) This is most easily done by slicing the pork, then laying the slices overlapping each other at an angle and cutting these at a reverse angle. (4) Marinate the pork in mixture A for 15 minutes. Then use 2 Tbsp oil to stir-fry the meat until the color changes. Set the meat aside. (5) Shred and cube the other ingredients. (6) Bring mixture B to a boil and add the black mush- room, bamboo shoots, wood ear, bean curd, and gol- den noodles. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the meat, then add mixture C. Add the beaten egg while stirring to disperse the egg in sheets and fila- ments. Add mixture D, and cook another minute. (7) Serve hot. NOTES Bean curd must be fresh. If you cannot get it fresh, omit it. You will need at least 6 bowls (soup bowls are OK), 1 large bowl, and either a two-handled wok or a large sauce pan. Don't attempt this with a one-handled wok because it will be filled with boiling soup and is almost certain to spill. Hot and sour soup is a generic soup type, so you can make many variations on this soup. To control the spiciness, adjust the ratio between mixture D and mixture B. Changing the ratios inside mixture D changes the nature of the soup. Finally, you can add a lot more ingredients if you want. The critical ingredients are the golden needles, bamboo (although almost any variety can be good), mushrooms (or fungus of some sort), and pork shreds. Experiment with dif- ferent kinds of fungus and bamboo. Adding other mild veget- ables is usually a success. RATING Difficulty: easy but tedious. Time: 1-2 hours (lots of preparation, little cooking) Precision: measure the ingredients. Last change: 1 Aug 86 2 HOTSOUR-SOUP-2 USENET Cookbook HOTSOUR-SOUP-2 CONTRIBUTOR Rob Horn Infinet, Inc., North Andover, Massachusetts, USA {decvax, seismo!harvard}!wanginst!infinet!rhorn Last change: 1 Aug 86 3 ------------ cut ------------------ -- Michael Slavitch Zvpunry Fynivgpu slavitch@Software.Mitel.COM fynivgpu@Fbsgjner.Zvgry.PBZ uunet!mitel!spock!slavitch hharg!zvgry!fcbpx!fynivgpu