Chinese Hot Sour Soup recipe

Chinese name: 酸辣汤 (suān là tāng)
Style: Sichuan (Szechuan) Cuisine
Characteristics: Hot and Sour Soup is characterized by being sour, hot, salty and fresh.

Hot and Sour Soup is mainly made of pork shreds, sausage, egg, mushroom, and dried bean curd sheet. It is usually eaten after the meal, helping to sober one up, getting rid of the grease and aiding digestion. It is also a good choice when you lose your appetite. The following recipe teaches you how to make the delicious dish at home.

Ingredients:
1/4 piece of dried bean curd sheet or 50 g beancurd (tofu)
3-4 fresh mushrooms
50 g lean pork
50 g chicken breast
50 g sausage
1 egg

Seasonings:
chopped green onion
pepper powder
cooking wine
sesame oil
vinegar
soy sauce
chicken essence (chicken stock/bouillon)
salt
wet cornstarch (the proportion of cornstarch and water is ususally 1:2)
Note: the amount of the seasonings listed above can be appropriately used according to one's personal taste.

Methods:

STEP Fill the wok with three bowls of water. Turn on the heat. Add the lean pork when the water is boiling and add in the cooking wine to get rid of the fishy smell. Boil it for 10-15 minutes until it is 80% cooked. Turn off the heat and remove it from the wok, through a colander and place on to a plate. Repeat to process the chicken breast.

Prepare a soup bowl by putting in it the pepper powder, vinegar, and chopped green onion. When the liquid in the wok is boiling, change to low heat and stew it for 2-3 minutes. Turn to high heat again, add in the salt, soy sauce, wet cornstarch, chicken essence and egg soup. Once the egg soup resembles a yellowish flower floating about the water, turn off the heat. Spoon them out of the wok and pour into the prepared soup bowl. Add in the sesame oil, finally.

Our Guests Attending Cooking Class

• Our Guest Making Dumplings

  On July 26, 2013, Mr. Clive, Ms. Carole, Mr. Joshua and Mr. Edward from the United Kingdom joined our Chinese cooking class during their tour in Xian. They had a lot of fun there with the hostess and learnt for the first time to cook Chinese food, including making dumplings and cooking the Hot and Sour Soup. Mr. Joshua was interested in Chinese food very much, and he told us happily that from this visit he initially learnt the way to cook his beloved ‘international’ dishes.

• Our Guests Learn to Make Dumplings

  On Apr. 19, 2013, a tour group from Turkey including HUSEYIN, MERAL, ISMAIL, etc. made a family tour arranged by TravelChinaGuide in Xian, and learned to cook Hot and Sour Soup and Chinese Dumplings. They enjoyed it a lot and Mr. Huseyin Said Tosun wrote in his feedback:"...I should very clearly tell you that, I and my friends in the group, who are all my or my wife's close friends and/or our neighboors, are totally satisfied from this tour..."

• Our Guests Dining in a Chinese Family

  On Jun. 03, 2011, Mr. Edward, Ms. Cheryl, Mr. Alexander & Ms. Anna from USA visited a local family in Xian and had an on-spot cooking class by learning to cook Hot and Sour Soup and Kung Pao Chicken from the hostess. In their feedback to us, they praised:"...Also, the food prepared at the home visit in Xian was the best..."