One of the side effects of being a food snob is that takeout eats make a rare appearance on my kitchen table. This is also the result of being a control freak, a lova of cooking and a gal who rocks some killer food allergies.

But, a hankering for Chinese food hits the best and worst of us at any given time. And so, a pot of Hot and Sour Soup just NEEDED to be concocted. 

I absolutely LOVE this soup. It tasted so much lighter and refreshing than what I get in a restaurant.

This was fairly easy to make. I suppose the hardest part was dealing with the fresh ginger, which you need to peel, then grate and then press through a sieve to get the ginger juice all up in your pot of warm delicious goodness. I grated my ginger with my Microplane, but a box grater will work just fine.

The recipe calls for shitake mushrooms, but if they are dodgy you can use any type of mushroom, really. A good cook always needs a plan B – and C, D, etc.

I used low sodium chicken broth and low sodium soy sauce. This soup freezes pretty well.

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Hot and Sour Soup

Recipe by Martha Stewart LivingCourse: SoupsCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or more if you like it super spicy)

• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms (about 4 cups), stemmed, caps thinly sliced

• 3 to 4 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1/2 package (7 ounces) soft or firm tofu, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, drained

• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

• In a large (5-quart) pot, combine broth, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add mushrooms; reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons vinegar and cornstarch. Add to pot; simmer, stirring, until soup is thickened, about 1 minute.
• Add egg through a slotted spoon, and stir to form ribbons. Stir in tofu. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 1 minute. Put ginger in a small sieve, and squeeze to release juice into soup (discard solids). Taste; add remaining tablespoon vinegar, if desired. Serve sprinkled with scallions.