Hot and sour and so tasty.

When I lived in the north end of Toronto, I used to frequent a restaurant called Peking Man for lunch. They served the best Hot and Sour soup. Since moving south, I’ve been searching for an equal alternative with very little success.

The missus gave me a Thai cook book for my birthday “Thai Cooking: The Food and the Lifestyle” (ISBN 978-1-4075-4923-1)  and the Hot and Sour soup recipe had the right flavor but lacked the right texture.  Then I picked up another book “Thai & Asian” from a Costco in Vegas which introduced some great elements but lacked the right taste.

What follows is an amalgamation of the two recipes. It’s awesome.

• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 4-6 fresh green chili’s, seeded and finely chopped
• 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 4 ounce pork fillet, cut into fine strips
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp corn starch
• 6 cups good quality stock (I use chicken, but any will do)
• 2 lemon grass stalks, cut in half
• 4 ounces canned water chestnuts
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar
• juice of 1 lime
• 5 ounces fresh firm tofu
• 1 tbsp oil (any will do)

Preparation

The first few times I attempted this dish I used a semi-thick aluminum wok (medium sized). Then I picked up a large mild steel thin wok and the dish seemed to suddenly turn out much better. Keep that in mind.

1. Place the dried mushrooms in a large bowl. Boil some water (or use a kettle) and pour over the mushrooms just to cover. Hint: use something to weight down the mushrooms while they soak. Soak until the mushrooms are fully hydrated, about 1 hour.
2. Combine the chili’s and vinegar and soak.
3. Drain the mushrooms (keep the water) and slice thinly.
4. Dust the strips of pork with some of the corn starch.
5. Mix the remainder of the corn starch with 2/3 cup of the water used to soak the mushrooms.
6. Heat the oil in the wok and fry the onion until soft over medium heat.
7. Increase the heat and fry the pork until it changes colour.
8. Add the stock, mushrooms, lemon grass, water chestnuts, soy sauce, lime juice, and sugar.
9. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15 minutes.
10. Add the chili and vinegar mixture.
11. Stir in the corn flour mixture to thicken.
12. Add the tofu and cook for 1-2 minutes.