Chinese Hot & Sour Soup

Hands up the number of people who always order Hot & Sour soup in a restaurant but shy away from making it at home as it looks daunting? Well, that was me up until last night - I decided to go for it as I love it so much. And you know what? Its not that hard. I won't lie to you, it did take half an hour to prepare all the veg and stock etc. but once its all prepped, its easy. And this recipe tastes just like the one you get at a restaurant.

Just read the recipe and make sure you have everything prepped and ready to go - and it falls into place. Its SO tasty, I hope you try it. Delicious hot & sour soup.

Ingredients:

¼ cup cornflour (cornstarch) plus 1 tsp.

¼ cup water

200g. pork loin, sliced thick matchstick

½ teaspoon oil

1 chicken breast, sliced thick matchstick

big handful small prawns (I used frozen)

¼ cup dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water

½ block firm tofu (1/4 cup)

¼ cup winter bamboo shoots (tinned is ok)

1 small carrot

1 spring onion (scallion), chopped

1 red & 1 green chilli, sliced (go for hot ones if you can)

1.5 litres chicken stock (cube is fine)

½ teaspoon fresh ground white pepper

2 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons white vinegar

1 pinch of sugar

2 eggs, beaten

Mix the 1 tsp. cornflour with the ½ tsp. oil and the sliced pork in a small bowl. Set to one side. Mix the ¼ cup cornflour with  ¼ cup of water in a small bowl and mix well. Set to one side.

Chop the soaked mushrooms, slice the carrot, bamboo shoots & tofu into thin strips.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the pork (in its cornflour mix) and sliced chicken. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the carrots, bamboo shoots, tofu, chillies, white pepper and soy sauces. Stir and cook for 2 mins. Now add the sesame oil vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Finally add the prawns and cook for a further few minutes.

Bring your soup to a simmer and have the cornflour and water mix ready. Stir the soup to create a whirlpool effect in the middle and slowly add the cornflour mix. This will thicken the soup without creating 'clumps'.

Now do the same with the beaten egg. Create a whirlpool effect and slowly, slowly pour in the beaten egg to create ribbons of egg.  Check for seasoning and add a little more soy sauce or sugar to taste.

Your soup is ready to serve. Garnish with the chopped spring onions and enjoy!