Hot & Sour Soup

Recipe 4 for the month of March 2012

Earlier in the month I was dying. At least that's what it felt like. My nose was running like a Usain Bolt and my face was puffy. It felt like the end was near. In times like these I rely on powerful soups. There's a Vietnamese place near my work that has some incredible soups. I downed about a gallon of this Shredded Beef stew and felt amazing afterwards. I decided I needed to make a soup that night.



While waiting for the god forsaken R train I was looking through my How to Cook Everything app when I stumbled upon Hot and Sour Soup. I like hot and sour soup. It's tasty and flavorful and the spices help my congestion so i figured I'd give it a shot. And then I saw the ingredients list. Nooo thank you! I kept searching but nothing stood out so I went back to hot and sour and read the Overview. In it Bittman says, "Don't be put off by the long ingredient list: This doesn't take much time to prepare." Fine, Bittman! You win. I'll make the soup, if the R train ever comes, that is! Grrr. So happy to be moving.

I bought a flank steak the day before and I've been looking for a recipe to make so this was a good deal. I lined all the ingredients up on the counter as I always do and it's a bit intimidating. There's a lot of shit here! I couldn't find chinese wood ear mushrooms. Do they even exist in this country? Once I soaked the shiitake mushrooms and whisked together the oil and the soy sauce this recipe got moving fast. While I was doing all that I put the flank steak in the freezer so it would be easier to cut. This is an ancient Chinese secret (no it's not). This is also the first time I made a dish with tofu since I was living with a wonderful vegan woman. I kinda like tofu. At least the firm tofu is not terrible to eat.

This dish gets a lot of it's flavor from the Rice Vinegar. I happen to think i was using a tad too much. I didn't feel like measuring. I added more and more pepper to fix the problem. Once I added the last of the cornstarch mixture I was feeling okay about this dish. Not great. I was hoping it would look a little bit more authentic to take out hot and sour soup, but then I added the egg. That was really magical. I felt like a sorcerer. Adding the eggs in a steady stream created a beautiful ribbon effect to the soup. Instantly the soup transformed and looked like take out chinese food.

I liked this dish, didn't love it. Next time I make it I will cut the beef into smaller pieces. My pieces were just too large for one spoon. I'll also be bearish with the rice vinegar. A little goes a long way. The good news is that the soup helped me feel better. I'd recommend making this dish on a cold winter day.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Dark sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pound flank steak
6 cups Chicken Stock
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh garlic
5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water
Half a pound firm Tofu
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped scallion

Steps:
1. Whisk together 1 teaspoon sesame oil with 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and cornstarch
2. Put flank steak in freezer for 15 minutes. Take it out and cut it into shreads and place in bowl
3. Marinate the meat in this mixture
4. Combine the stock with the garlic and ginger in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat
5. Drain the mushrooms and cut into thin slices and add to the stock
6. Reduce heat to low for 5 minutes
7. Bring stock back to a boil over medium heat and add the meat. Stir to make sure pieces don't stick together and cook till meat is no longer pink
8. Add cubed tofu, vinegar, pepper and remaining soy sauce
9. Reduce heat to low again and simmer for 5 minutes
10. Mix remaining cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water and stir mixture into the soup unitl it thickens
11. Continue to stir and pour the beaten eggs in a slow stream. The eggs should form a ribbon.
12. Remove from heat and season with remaining sesame oil and more pepper and vinegar to taste.
13. Garnish with cilantro and scallions and serve!

Look! Ribbons!