Key Ingredients for Hot and Sour Soup?

A couple of months ago, I learned after 20+ years of marriage that my husband's favorite soup is Hot and Sour (all along I thought it was Chicken Noodle!). So, I made up a batch one night, and while the ultimate finding was that it was both "good" and "tasty," something was missing that would render it "authentic."

Maybe this is a soup that can't be duplicated at home, but I want to give it another shot to see if I can get closer to the real thing. I have consulted recipe after recipe, and these seem to be the common elements, all of which were in my version (amounts for each differed in every recipe I found):

• Tofu
• Soy Sauce
• Toasted Sesame Oil
• Cornstarch
• Pork Loin, cut into matchsticks
• Egg (swirled in at the end of cooking time)
• Chicken Broth
• Bamboo Shoots
• Shiitake Mushrooms
• Black Chinese Vinegar
• Chili Oil (I used homemade, but maybe there is a brand that is recommended?)
• White Pepper
• Scallions (Topping)

Two ingredients I think I need to add are Cloud Ear Mushrooms and Lily Buds, but would just those two things add so much flavor they would change the taste profile? My thought on the version I cooked up was that it was missing something that added crunch to the texture, and assumed that was water chestnuts, but I don't find that included in any recipe.

So, esteemed LTHers, what do you think I might be missing?

Thanks so much!
Sharon

the primary change is to good pork stock instead of the chicken broth.

JoelF wrote:the primary change is to good pork stock instead of the chicken broth.

Well now, that is definitely a revelation -- I might even have what I need to make some. Thanks! One recipe I just consulted suggested using a "Chinese chicken broth," made with ginger and sake or rice wine. I could also do that, if it would be more authentic than what I have on hand, which is either homemade or Kirkland organic chicken stock.

Thanks!

I started making hot and sour soup after a 1974 trip to Vancouver introduced me to Mandarin Chinese cooking for the first time. I picked up a copy of Joyce Chen and worked my way through it. Her recipe uses cloud ears (not shiitakes) and golden needles (the lily buds) and I do think they make a big difference, both of them adding a lot of earthiness that you might otherwise be missing. Don't overdo it on the bamboo shoots either, since they tend to be pretty neutral and you don't want to lose the zing of the soup. The sesame oil is also critical and you might want to try a couple of different brands. (Bonus tip, the Joyce Chen cookbook also includes a recipe for asparagus, or maybe it was green beans, where you just quickly cook them and then dress them with a tiny bit of soy and a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil--I do it all the time).

A lot of figuring it out is just by taste. As noted, the broth is key. I always used chicken broth, but it was always the best homemade broth I could make, and I'm sure a pork broth would be great as well.

Ann Fisher wrote:I started making hot and sour soup after a 1974 trip to Vancouver introduced me to Mandarin Chinese cooking for the first time. I picked up a copy of Joyce Chen and worked my way through it. Her recipe uses cloud ears (not shiitakes) and golden needles (the lily buds) and I do think they make a big difference, both of them adding a lot of earthiness that you might otherwise be missing. Don't overdo it on the bamboo shoots either, since they tend to be pretty neutral and you don't want to lose the zing of the soup. The sesame oil is also critical and you might want to try a couple of different brands. (Bonus tip, the Joyce Chen cookbook also includes a recipe for asparagus, or maybe it was green beans, where you just quickly cook them and then dress them with a tiny bit of soy and a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil--I do it all the time).

A lot of figuring it out is just by taste. As noted, the broth is key. I always used chicken broth, but it was always the best homemade broth I could make, and I'm sure a pork broth would be great as well.

Thank you for the opportunity I needed to say publicly that JoelF's pork broth suggestion turned out to be utterly fantastic! My hat is off to him!

The soup I made a week or so ago was so many levels better than my first batch, and the broth definitely was key, along with the textural contrast added by lily buds and cloud ears.

For simmering the pork bones, I added one largish onion halved, a good-sized chunk of fresh ginger, carrot, wine (mix of dry white and dry sherry) and scallion to the water.

The only change I will make next go-round is to simmer the broth longer (I ran out of time). I also might make it a day ahead of serving, as both DH and I thought it was tastier on Night 2.