The other night I finally felt myself succumbing to the latest cold/flu.  That dreaded scratchy throat and overall malaise required soup. I love Hot and Sour Soup and luckily had chicken broth in the freezer and fresh ginger and turmeric in the fridge.  Ginger and turmeric are supposed to be anti-inflammatories so perfect for my worsening cold.

I opened up Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes to see their take on the restorative dish.  (Plug here for the Good Food Cookbook Club.  The LP book is our latest selection) Their version It’s super easy to make and not thickened with cornstarch which makes it  is remarkably light.  What I love about the LP recipes is that it’s simple to customize based on what you have in the house and your mood.  I didn’t have any pork in the house so I left it out.  I felt like noodles so I added bean threads to my bowl.  I’m currently addicted to Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chile Crisp (more about that in an upcoming post) so I used that as my chile but you can use anything from Sriracha to chile flakes if that’s all you have.  And I love lettuce in soup.  There’s the color and the slight crunch if you don’t cook them too much.  So here’s my more complicated version of the super easy  Lucky Peach Hot and Sour Soup.

Print Recipe

Hot Sour Soup

Course

Entrée, Main Dish, Soup

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

15 minutes

Servings

2-4 people

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons neutral oil I used safflower
• 2" piece fresh ginger
• 2 cloves peeled garlic
• 1/2" piece fresh tumeric or 1 teaspoon powder
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup mushrooms of your choice wood ear, shitake, king, shimeji (beech)
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 4 green onions trimmed and sliced or 1 sliced shallot
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup rice vinegar I used brown rice vinegar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• several grinds black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 8 ounces soft or silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• small handful washed baby lettuce
• 1 nest bean threads prepared according to package directions
• Sriracha, sambal oelek, or Spicy Chile Crisp to taste

Course Entrée, Main Dish, Soup Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 15 minutes Servings 2-4 people Ingredients 2 tablespoons neutral oil I used safflower 2" piece fresh ginger 2 cloves peeled garlic 1/2" piece fresh tumeric or 1 teaspoon powder 1/4 - 1/2 cup mushrooms of your choice wood ear, shitake, king, shimeji (beech) 1 quart chicken broth 4 green onions trimmed and sliced or 1 sliced shallot 1/4 - 1/2 cup rice vinegar I used brown rice vinegar 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar several grinds black pepper pinch of salt 1 teaspoon sesame oil 8 ounces soft or silken tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes small handful washed baby lettuce 1 nest bean threads prepared according to package directions Sriracha, sambal oelek, or Spicy Chile Crisp to taste

Instructions

1. Put the oil in a small saucepan. Sauté the ginger, garlic, tumeric and mushrooms in the oil until you smell the aromatics and the mushrooms and shallot if you're using soften.

   
2. Add the chicken broth and green onions to the pot and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper. sesame oil and tofu. Bring to a simmer. Add the chile product of your choice to reach a desired level of heat. Add the baby lettuce. Let simmer for a few minutes to bring the flavors together.
4. Taste for balance adding more vinegar, soy and chile to suit your taste if necessary.
5. To serve, add the cooked bean threads to either individual bowls or a large serving bowl. Pour the hot soup over. Serve.

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