Traditional Szechuan Style Hot And Sour Soup With Tofu Fritter Recipes

HOT AND SOUR SOUP (酸辣汤)

Steps:

• Gently rinse dried shiitake mushrooms, dried wood ear mushrooms, and lily flowers with tap water. Soak each of them with 1.5 to 2 cups warm water in three big bowls. Rehydrate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until tender. Slice mushrooms into strips. Snip off the tough ends of lily flowers and discard. Remove tough ends of wood ear mushrooms, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the marinating water from lily flower and shiitake mushrooms, 2 cups in total
• Combine pork, Shaoxing wine, salt and cornstarch in a bowl. Mix well by hand. Marinate for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Add Chinkiang vinegar and white pepper into a small bowl. Mix well until the white pepper is completely dissolved.
• Add water or chicken stock, ginger, and green onion into a pot and heat over medium-high heat. If you reserved the marinating liquid from step one, you can add it plus 4 cups water or chicken stock.
• Add rehydrated wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, lily flowers, and tofu to the pot. Cook until bringing to a simmer. Add soy sauce and turn to medium-low heat.
• Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water in a bowl until cornstarch is fully dissolved. Slowly swirl the cornstarch slurry into the soup. Stir to thicken the soup.
• Add the pork from step one into the soup, stirring several times to prevent the pork strips from sticking together. Add the salt. Slowly swirl in the beaten egg and stir well. The egg should be scattered and not clotted.
• Remove the pot from stove. Add the vinegar and pepper mixture and stir to mix well.
• Garnish with cilantro and drizzle with sesame oil. Give it a final stir. Taste the soup and add more salt if needed.
• Serve hot.

BAKED TOFU SZECHUAN STYLE

Steps:

• In a medium size bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Gently stir in the tofu and coat well. Let marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours. Cover and chill if longer than 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the tofu and its marinade into a shallow baking dish in one layer. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing once with a spatula.
• Combine the sauce ingredients and pour over the tofu. Toss to coat evenly. Return to the oven and bake 10 more minutes, or until golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before serving; it should be served warm, not piping hot.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP WITH TOFU

Steps:

• In a large (5-quart) pot, combine broth, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add mushrooms; reduce heat, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons vinegar and cornstarch. Add to pot; simmer, stirring, until soup is thickened, about 1 minute.
• Add egg through a slotted spoon, and stir to form ribbons. Stir in tofu. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 1 minute. Put ginger in a small sieve, and squeeze to release juice into soup (discard solids). Taste; add remaining tablespoon vinegar, if desired. Serve sprinkled with scallions.