Hot-and-sour Soup

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 whole chicken breast, bone-in skin and excess fat removed
• 6 cups chicken stock or 6 cups water
• 5 dried lily buds
• 3 -4 dried black fungus (cloud ear or tree ear)
• 3 -4 shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 lb soft tofu or 1/2 lb firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice or 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (optional)
• 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
• minced scallion (to garnish)
• tabasco sauce or hot sesame oil

Recipe

• 1 place the chicken and stock in a large, deep saucepan and turn the heat to high. reduce heat to medium-low and partially cover.
• 2 cook for 20 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.
• 3 while the chicken is cooking, soak the lily buds, fungus, and shiitake mushrooms in hot water and cover until soft (about 10-15 minutes). if the water cools before the mushrooms soften, drain and add more hot water.
• 4 remove the chicken and as soon as it's cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and chop it.
• 5 trim and shed the lily buds, trim and mince the fungus and mushrooms. add to the simmering broth.
• 6 return the chicken meat to the broth, along with the tofu, soy sauce, vinegar, and pepper.
• 7 add more soy sauce, salt, pepper, and vinegar to taste.
• 8 raise the heat a little bit and stir the eggs into the soup.
• 9 add the cornstarch to thicken.
• 10 float the sesame oil on top of the soup, then add the scallions to garnish.
• 11 serve and add hot sauce to taste.