Hi hello! Wesley here. This is a recipe for a hot and sour soup that you'll frequently find as the complimentary soup that you get in a lot of Chinese lunch eateries. More specifically, this version adds to our Bay Area Restaurant Hack series, as it draws its inspiration from the popular Oakland spot Shan Dong.
This soup is often served as a free appetizer cause it's mainly composed of cheap pantry ingredients like shiitake and wood ear mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and tofu. For today's version however, I'll be deviating from the original slightly with the addition of some poached and shredded chicken, which I think will be a nice added protein. Hope you try it!
serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS (dry)
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 bamboo shoot tip
2 wood ear mushrooms
4 shiitake mushrooms
1 lbs soft tofu
1 chicken breast
3 green onions
2 eggs
INGREDIENTS (wet)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp doubanjiang
6 cups stock
2 cups water
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp corn starch slurry
PREP
CRUSH AND MINCE the garlic, set aside
MINCE the ginger, set aside
SLICE bamboo shoots into 1/2 inch planks, set aside
SLICE wood ear mushrooms into 1/2 inch strips, set aside
SLICE shiitake mushrooms into 1/2 inch strips, set aside
LARGE DICE tofu, set aside
SLICE green onions on a bias, set aside
whisk eggs, set aside
combine corn starch with cold water into a slurry, set aside
ON THE STOVE
ADD all wet ingredients to a stock pot and bring to a boil
ADD ginger, garlic and chicken breast, and poach for 20 minutes until fully cooked through at its thickest point
REMOVE the chicken breast, and pull into shreds using two forks
ADD shedded chicken back to the pot, followed by bamboo shoots, and mushrooms
GRADUALLY STIR in eggs until wisps of egg appear
ADD tofu and corn starch slurry and stir until combined
SERVE with green onions as garnish