Hot and sour soup
Tangy, peppery and silky, packed with tofu, mushrooms and egg ribbons, and better than the takeout version you usually order.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $5.01 a serving
- 350 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 3½ oz shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, thinly sliced
- 1 package firm tofu, 14 oz, cut into thin strips
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp water
Each serving has about 350 calories, 27 g protein, 26 g carbs and 16 g fat, and costs about $5.01 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the mushroom caps thinly, cut the tofu into thin strips, slice the green onions and the ginger. Beat the egg in a small cup.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Bring the broth, soy sauce, ginger and mushrooms in a medium over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
to medium and for 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the tofu, vinegar, pepper, chili garlic sauce and sugar and simmer for 3 more minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min
Dolly’s tip: Taste now. It should be tangy and peppery at the same time. Add a splash more vinegar or a pinch more pepper until it wakes you up.Stir the cornstarch and water together in a cup until smooth, stir it into the soup and cook for 1 minute, until thick and glossy.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Turn the heat to low. Stirring slowly in one direction, in the egg in a thin stream and let it set into ribbons for 30 seconds.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Low heatTimer: 30 sec
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil and most of the green onions, and serve with the rest on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
