Hot & Sour Soup

Name: Hot & Sour Soup
Prep time: 255 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese Menu
Ingredients: Pork Loin — 100g; Light Soy Sauce — 2 tsp; Cornflour — 2 tsp; Chicken Stock — 800ml; Dried Shiitake Mushrooms — 2; Dried Wood Ear Fungus — 15g; Silken Tofu — 140g; Carrots — 50g; Ginger — ½ tbsp; Eggs — 2; Cornflour — 2 tbsp; Water — 2 tbsp; Light Soy Sauce — 1½ tbsp; Dark Soy Sauce — 1 tsp; Sugar — 1 tsp; Salt — 1 tsp; Chinese Black Vinegar — 3 tbsp; Ground White Pepper — 1 tbsp; Sesame Oil — 1½ tsp; Spring Onions — 2; Coriander — 10g

Hot & Sour Soup (Suālà Tāng) is a legendary dish from the Northern and Szechuan regions of China. It is a thick, hearty, and 'busy' soup - a complex architecture of shredded ingredients suspended in a broth that delivers a sharp, dual-action punch to the senses. It is designed to 'warm the stomach' and stimulate the appetite through a balance of intense acidity and peppery heat.

Cuisines

Cooking Instructions

Preparation: 4 hours 15 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes

Servings: 3 to 4

Notes:

Rehydrating dried shiitake mushrooms and dried wood ear fungus takes roughly 4 hours and provides a deeper, authentic umami flavour than fresh mushrooms.

Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang) and freshly ground white pepper must be added right at the very end of cooking, as prolonged boiling causes their distinctive sourness and fiery punch to fade.

Adjust the white pepper quantity to taste: use 1 tsp for a milder warmth or up to 1 tbsp for authentic restaurant-style heat.

Chicken stock or vegetable stock can be used interchangeably as the soup base.

Rehydrate and Shred Ingredients
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and dried wood ear fungus in warm water for 4 hours until fully rehydrated. Squeeze out excess liquid, slice the mushrooms thinly, and shred the wood ear fungus. Thinly shred the pork loin, silken tofu, and carrot.

Marinate Pork
In a bowl, combine the shredded pork with 2 teaspoons of light soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of cornflour, mixing well to coat thoroughly. Leave to marinate for 15 minutes.

Mix Seasoning Bowls
In the first bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth, then stir in 1½ tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. In a second bowl, whisk the Chinese black vinegar and ground white pepper together until fully blended with no lumps.

Simmer Base and Add Pork
In a pot or wok, combine the chicken stock, minced ginger, sliced shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and shredded carrot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the marinated pork, stirring gently for 10 seconds until it changes colour, then slide in the shredded silken tofu.

Thicken Soup and Drizzle Eggs
Re-whisk the first seasoning bowl and pour into the pot whilst stirring constantly to thicken the broth. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a thin stream, stirring gently to form delicate egg ribbons.

Finish and Serve
Add the second seasoning bowl of black vinegar and white pepper, stirring for 10 seconds before removing from the heat. Stir through the sesame oil, chopped spring onions, and fresh coriander, then ladle into bowls and serve hot.