Hot & Sour Soup

I've always wanted a hot & sour soup recipe, so that I could make it at home when I get the inevitable craving. A friend from church, Chris Young, gave me this one. I made it for the first time today and it's great. As good as almost any I've had in a Chinese restaurant.

• 1 package extra firm tofu, drained
• 4 Tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 4 Tsp corn starch
• 2 boneless center cut pork chops, sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
• 1 large egg
• 4 cans (about 8 cups) chicken broth
• 1 cup bamboo shoots, sliced lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips
• 4 oz fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced ¼ inch thick
• 5 Tsp black vinegar (or 2 Tsp red wine vinegar plus 3 Tsp balsamic vinegar)
• 2 tsp chili oil
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 3 medium scallions, sliced thin

Place tofu in a pie plate and set a heavy plate on top. Weight with more plates or a couple of heavy cans. Let stand at least 15 minutes. Tofu should release about ½ cup liquid.

Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a medium bowl. Toss pork with marinade and set aside for at least 10 minutes.

Pour chicken broth into a large saucepan and bring close to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes.

While broth simmers, dice tofu into ½ inch cubes. Add tofu and pork to the soup, stirring to separate any pieces of pork that stick together. Continue to simmer until pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.

Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Add to soup and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in 5 tablespoons black vinegar, 2 teaspoons chili oil, 2 teaspoon white pepper, and 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Turn off heat.

Mix ½ teaspoon cornstarch with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Add egg and beat with a fork until combined. Without stirring the soup, use a soupspoon to slowly drizzle very thin streams of the egg mixture into the pot in a circular motion. Let soup sit 1 minute, then return the soup to medium-high heat. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat. Gently stir the soup once to evenly distribute the egg.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with scallions.

Serves 8.