Hot and Sour Soup soothes the soul…

This one will be short and sweet, or hot and sour, depending on how you look at it. *smiles* I’ve been sitting here the past few days coughing my head off, attempting to nurse myself back to health, and at my wits end with a Rudolph nose. A good friend suggested to me that I should have some Hot and Sour Soup. They said it’s always helped them when they were sick and should do the same for me.

So, on to the easy Hot and Sour Soup recipe hunt I went.

I don’t normally have to go far for an easy recipe. I go to my Smart Phone App or online to All Recipes, and type in “easy hot and sour soup”. A few different ones came up, and I thumbed through them to make sure I had all of the needed ingredients. In the end, the one I found was quite easy and quite good. Next time you’re feeling under the weather, try this recipe…it just might help.

I didn’t do the recipe below to specs, because I didn’t have bamboo shoots and mushrooms. I also opted not to use chicken to have more of a broth, so I eliminated all of the steps and ingredients relating to the chicken prep. I also ended up putting quite a bit more red chili flakes in it than it called for, because I like it hot!

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained
• 3 slices fresh ginger root (I grated mine fresh over the pot)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I ended up using about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into thin strips
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 green onions, chopped (I keep green onion diced and frozen in a bag for times like this when I need some)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional) (This was just for garnish, so I didn’t mind not having any)
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I only had Apple Cider Vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the chicken broth, water, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and hot pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
2. Place the chicken slices into a bowl and toss with the sesame oil to coat. In a separate bowl, stir together the cornstarch and vinegar, and set aside.
3. Increase the heat under the broth to medium-high, and return to a rolling boil. Add the chicken slices. Return to a boil, and then drizzle in the egg while stirring slowly to create long strands of egg. Stir in the vinegar and cornstarch. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and the broth has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Serve garnished with green onions (I put the green onions in the soup broth while it was boiling) and cilantro.

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