Coming in Hot with Hot & Sour Soup

In the wise words of Flo Rida, “Oh, hot damn.” This is AMAZING(ly easy). I saw this recipe recently posted on Gimme Some Oven and was so excited to try this. I’ve always wanted to make this at home, but never quite new where to start. This soup is surprisingly simple and not too unhealthy for you if you overlook the sodium — hence why I try to use low sodium options and add soy sauce accordingly. I’m not a big fan of mushrooms so I chopped them into small pieces vs. keeping them in long slices; I didn’t want to skimp on these to keep the flavor authentic. This recipe lets you play around with how hot, sour or salty you like. I kept mine plenty sour and plenty spicy. Plus, I had a cold when I concocted this and it’s a sure way to clear the sinuses with the extra kick of sriracha. I love this. Can’t wait to add Hot & Sour Soup to my recipe arsenal.

Ingredients (serves 6-8).

• 8 c homemade vegetable broth
• 1 (8 oz.) can bamboo shoots, drained
• 8 shiitake mushrooms — washed, stems removed and chopped
• 1/8 c low sodium soy sauce +
• 1/4 c plus 1 T rice vinegar *
• 1 T sriracha **
• 1/2 t black pepper (white is preferred, but I only had black)
• 2 t ground ginger
• 1 t sugar
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3-4 scallions, sliced (about 1/4 c) plus extra to garnish
• Red pepper flakes to garnish (optional)

* NOTES: If you want a more “sour” dish, add an extra tablespoon of rice vinegar (like I did) or cut back accordingly.

+ I added soy sauce (about 1/2 t) to each individual serving. I never like to make a batch too salty, since it’s difficult to counteract, so I think it’s easier to “salt” individual servings.

** If you want a milder dish, add sriracha by the teaspoon to taste. I like mine super spicy so I started with a tablespoon and went from there :)

Directions.

1. In a large pot, add broth over medium high heat. Stir in mushrooms and bamboo shoots along with soy sauce through sugar. Bring broth to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
2. Once simmering, slowly pour whisked eggs while still stirring the soup. This creates “ribbons.” The slower you pour, the thinner the egg ribbons.
3. Stir in scallions and tofu. (You may have to cut the thin portion of block into thirds so then you have three thin rectangular sheets. Then cut the sheets into cubes.)
4. Season the soup according to notes to make it more “hot” (sriracha), “sour” (rice vinegar) or salty (soy sauce).
5. Garnish with red pepper flakes and extra chopped scallions.
6. Serve hot and enjoy!

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven‘s “Hot and Sour Soup.”