Recipe: Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup
rec.food.recipes/ElenaN (1994)
Adapted from the Moosewood Cookbook (Mollie Katzen) and The Frugal Gourmet Cooks 3 Ancient Cuisines...
Serves 4-5 people as main dish, more as a "course"
It's better than most of the restaurant versions I've tried. - Elena

6 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked for 1/2 hour in 2 cups boiling water (save the water)
1/4 dried black fungus (cloud ears) soaked for 15 min with other mushrooms, shredded
5 cups of water or chicken stock
2 Tablespoons light (not lite!) soy sauce
3 Tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 cup and 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
5 Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 5 tablespoons water
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, cut in strips
1 cake firm bean curd (tofu) cut into 1/4 by 1/4 by whatever strips
2 eggs, beaten

Garnishes
Chopped green onions
Fresh-ground black pepper
a few drops of hot oil (chili oil?)

1. Rinse the mushrooms to clean them, then put to soak in 2 cups boiling water for 1/2 hour. After 15 min, add dried fungus.

2. Drain, reserving the liquid. Slice the mushrooms & shred the fungus.

3. Heat the 4 cups water/stock, + mushrooms to boiling. Add light soy, wine/sherry, vinegar, white pepper, optional salt and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Gradually add about 1/2 cup of hot soup, stirring all the time, until smooth. Then pour all at once into soup and stir.

5. Add the bamboo, fungus and bean curd. Keep stirring, so the soup won't catch!

6. Bring to a simmer again, and pour in the eggs in a very thin stream. Count to 5 and stir a few times slowly.

7. Turn off heat and add garnishes - enjoy!