I love to cook. Chili, Chinese, Mexican, all kinds of spaghetti sauces - even beer - I like to make it. One of my favorite parts of the semester break is the ability to do a bit more cooking than I normally do. Tonight I made some hot and sour soup. If you aren't familiar with cooking abbreviations, t = teaspoon and T = tablespoon.
1.
4 c chicken stock
2 T vinegar
1/4 t white pepper
1 T mushroom soy sauce
peanut or sesame oil to taste
2.
1/2 t mushroom soy
1 T cornstarch
1/2 t water
3.
4 T water
3 T cornstarch
1/2 c shredded chicken breast
1/2 c vegetables (I use canned mushrooms - pieces and stems - and bamboo shoots cut into thin strips. I've used peas and carrots in the past as well. But I now only use 'shrooms and shoots.)
1 c tofu cut into strips
2 eggs beaten
Add 1. to a pot and bring to a boil. Mix 2. together and mix with the 1/2 c chicken breast. Add to the boil. Add the vegetables and the tofu to the boil and bring the mixture back to a boil. Mix 3. and add to the boil to thicken. Drop beaten eggs slowly into soup.
I am told that if you leave out the vinegar and the white pepper in 1., you'll have egg drop soup.
I used to use black pepper and regular Kikkoman soy sauce in my soup, but it never had the taste I was looking for. The proprietor of my favorite Chinese restaurant in my home town told me to use mushroom soy sauce and white pepper instead. That turned out to be the trick.
To make the chicken stock, I boiled 1.5 boneless and skinless chicken breasts in 6 quarts of water for an hour or so. I added about 20-24 chicken boullion cubes. I used 4 cups for my soup and canned the rest of the stock for future use.
Enjoy! One of these days, Professor Palmer, I'll post the recipe to Phili's Chili!