Hot and Sour Soup is a world favorite. This recipe is makes enough soup for the next day!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
• 12 cups (three boxes) “chik’n”-style broth
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 thumb-size pieces galangal or ginger, grated or finely sliced into matchstick-like pieces
• 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
• 2 Tbsp. red miso paste
• 3 Tbsp chilie & garlic paste
• 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
• 2 Tbsp chilie oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 kaffir lime leaves (frozen, fresh, or dried) OR 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 heaping Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. water (whisk)
• 1-2 cups cubed tofu
VEGETABLES (choose from the following, or add your own selection):
• 1 red or green bell pepper
• handful fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms (if dried, soak them in hot water for several hours)
• 1 cup Chinese cabbage such as bok choy, roughly chopped
• handful of fresh or frozen spinach
• frozen or fresh broccoli
• bamboo shoot strips
NOODLE OPTION:
• Serve soup over pre-cooked rice noodles. We used a very thick and chewy kind (not flat-wide rice-stick. Think more like “rice-udon”) that we were dubious of before hand, but worked out most excellently, although rice-stick would work well.
GARNISH:
• handful of fresh coriander OR fresh basil
• lime
• mung bean sprouts
PREPARATION:
1. Heat broth in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, galangal or ginger, soy sauce, miso paste, chilli, vinegar, brown sugar and lime leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer while you add next ingredients.
2. Grill meat/tofu on a cast-iron grill or the like to give it some character, then add it to the pot, plus the vegetables. Simmer 3-5 minutes, or until vegetables are lightly cooked (but still on the crisp side).
3. Prepare the cornstarch thickener by using some broth. Whisk until smooth, then add to soup pot and stir to blend.
4. Ladle the hot soup into bowls (by itself or over noodles) and garnish with fresh coriander or basil.