Review: Hot & Sour Soup Recipe

Hot & Sour Soup along with General Tso's Chicken are the two recipes that I judge all Chinese restaurants by. Yes, I understand that the General's chicken is not true Chinese food, but when I want deep-fried chicken pieces in a savory sauce over rice, all of which I try not to eat, this is my go-to dish. Hot & Sour Soup on the other hand, isn't that bad, just don't look at the milligrams of salt. Luckily at this point in my life, the only reason I watch my salt intake is so I don't feel puffy the next day.

I ran across this recipe from Wegman's for Hot & Sour Soup, and thought I'd give it a whirl. If it's easy AND good, I could skip the restaurant version and simply whip it up at home. I cooked it yesterday and it is YUMMY, but took a bit more prep time and dirty dishes than I had hoped. I'll share some time cutting tips below, keep in mind I'm just too cheap sometimes to buy pre-minced, diced and cut products. In this case, it worked out well, my son wanted to help, so I put him to work. My counters and stove top were messier than usual, I really need to work with him on his stirring and measuring skills, but it was quality time spent with him. He even said it smelled great, but wouldn't try it because of the mushrooms. I told him that someday, he'll like them, lol.

Ingredients:

1 tbs Vegetable Oil (I actually used flavorless coconut oil) 
1 lb Ground Pork 
2 tbs minced Garlic (time saver = purchase a jar of pre-minced garlic)
2 tbs peeled, minced fresh ginger (time saver = purchase pre-minced ginger)
2 pkgs (5 oz each) Sliced Shiitake Mushrooms (I used baby 'Bellas)
64 oz Chicken Broth (time saver = purchase pre-made)
3 tbs Cornstarch 
4 tbs water 
1/2 cup  Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 
2 tsp ground white pepper 
1 tsp salt 
1/2 cup Rice Vinegar 
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil 
1 Large Egg, beaten 
3-4  green onions, thinly sliced on bias, for garnish

Directions:

Prep first - got out everything needed ingredients, knife, mincer, grater, cutting board, large spoon, stockpot, 2 small bowls, measuring cups and spoons.

Cleaned and minced the garlic. Cleaning is the most time consuming part. First I smash the clove a bit to crack the outside, then I peel, then mince. Peeled the ginger (BIG pain), then minced. If you've ever minced ginger, it's a stringy root that takes a bit of muscle. Plus it gets juicy, making it hard to hold. I managed to snag my fingertips a couple times. In the famous words of Monty Python's the Black Knight, "It's just a flesh wound." 

Beating the egg (easiest part of the whole prep).

1. Heat oil in stockpot on MED-HIGH. Add pork; cook, stirring to break up large pieces, 2-3 min, until browned. Add garlic, ginger, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, 3-4 min.

2. Add broth; bring to simmer. Cook 10 min. Add cornstarch and water to small bowl; stir to combine. Set aside.

3. Add soy sauce, pepper, salt, rice vinegar, and sesame oil to pot; stir to combine. Add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. Drizzle egg into soup, stirring constantly. Garnish soup with green onions before serving.

I ended up letting it simmer for about 15 min while I cleaned up. Once the prep is done, the cooking is really easy. Ladled the soup into the bowl then sat down to watch some Hawaii 5-0. The soup has great flavor, I'm going to add a bit more pepper next time to increase the heat a tad and the baby 'Bellas didn't change the flavor. I would have liked a bit more pork, so I'll probably bump the quantity up to 1.5 lbs. Also, if you don't want pork, tofu could be added, bits of chicken or other protein, just as easily. As you can tell from the recipe, it makes a lot of soup. I'm planning on freezing part for future eating.

Bottom line, I'll be making this again. Nothing beats a good cup of soup, especially on a cold winter's day. Enjoy!