Recipe - Hot and Sour Soup

I don't know what it is with me and soup. Much like the black bean soup, when I left Northern Virginia, I began a quest to recreate my favorite Chinese restaurant's hot and sour soup. Unlike the black bean soup, so far I have failed at coming close. The original bubbled dark and murky, full of unidentifiable objects. I assumed most were mushrooms, but could never be 100% sure.

I have come up with a suitable replacement recipe, though. It tastes good and curbs my craving even though it is really quite different from the original. Maybe knowing what I'm eating takes away from the fun of it all?

These proportions serve 2 VERY heartily if you are just eating soup or 4 if you serve something else along side. You might as well eat it all up at once - it doesn't keep well in the fridge. You could make this in a large pot, but a wok really does the job nicely.

2 thin cut boneless pork chops, cut into 1/4 inch thin strips
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 large shiitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/4 inch thin strips
8 ounce can sliced bamboo shoots, drained, cut into 1/4 inch matchsticks
1/4 block extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch thin strips
2 large eggs, beaten

Marinate pork strips in 1 Tbsp soy sauce about 5 minutes. Combine remaining soy sauce, cornstarch, vinegars, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Stir well to combine. Heat oil in a wok or large pot over med-high heat. Add pork and stir-fry 2-3 minutes.

Add bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Cook, tossing constantly, about 1 minute.

Add broth and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Add tofu and vinegar mixture, stir and bring back to a boil.

Slowly pour in beaten egg in a drizzle, stirring constantly. A fork works best for this to make sure the egg doesn't clump, but we cheated and used a spoon. I eat it right after adding the eggs, but if that makes you nervous, let it boil again, but beware of the foam.

Enjoy a bowl of non-mysterious hot and sour soup!