Quick and Easy Hot and Sour Soup

1 cup chicken broth

6 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

½ cup canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ cup cooked pork or chicken, cut as desired

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

White pepper to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

¼ cup water

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 green onion, minced

A few drops sesame oil

1. In a large saucepan, bring the chicken broth and water to a boil. When it is boiling, add the salt, sugar, soy sauce, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and cooked meat.
2. Bring back to a boil and add the rice vinegar and white pepper. Test the broth and adjust the taste if required. Mix the cornstarch and water and slowly pour it into the soup, stirring. When the soup thickens, turn off the heat.
3. Pour in the beaten egg and stir quickly to form thin shreds. Stir in the green onion. Drizzle with the sesame oil. Give a final stir and serve hot.

How Do You Drop?

The most challenging part of preparing Egg Drop Soup is streaming the egg into the soup. First, turn off the heat: this prevents the eggs from developing a rubbery texture. Next, hold a fork twelve inches above the pot and slowly pour the beaten egg through the tines. Stir rapidly in a clockwise direction to form thin shreds; gently to form long streams.

Egg Drop Soup

4 cups chicken broth or stock

teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 green onions, minced

A few drops of sesame oil

1. Bring the chicken stock or broth to a boil.
2. When the broth is boiling, add the white pepper, salt, sugar, and rice wine. Cook for another minute.
3. Turn off the heat and pour the eggs into the soup in a steady stream, stirring rapidly in a clockwise direction until they form thin strands.
4. Add the green onions and sesame oil. Give the soup a final stir. Serve hot.