Hot and Sour Soup

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. To hell with deChristmasing, decluttering and decompressing!!

I absolutely LOVE this soup. It tasted so much lighter and refreshing than what I get in a restaurant. And that is exactly what I was looking for after weeks of holiday eats and parties and drinking. (Well, I'm still drinking. Let's just keep it real.)

One of the highlights of the soup is that my little man Evan James, HOUSED it. Two bowls! And he declared a love for tofu and mushrooms that warmed my foodie heart.

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.

And just to warn you, be sure to discard the stems from the shiitake mushrooms you use. The stems are very tough. You just want to use the caps in this.

I used low sodium chicken broth and low sodium soy sauce.

Hot and Sour Soup
From Martha Stewart Living, April 2004

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

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 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

• 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.