Hot and Sour Soup

FREE RECIPE PREVIEW

Ingredients — preview

• 5 ounces boneless pork loin cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 12 small dried tree ear mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup bamboo shoots cut into 1/8-inch-wide strips
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

Preparation — preview

1. Toss pork with dark soy sauce in a bowl until pork is well coated.
2. Soak mushrooms in 3 cups boiling-hot water until softened, about 30 minutes.
3. Squeeze excess liquid from caps into bowl and thinly slice caps.
4. Remove mushrooms from bowl, reserving liquid, and trim off any hard pieces. If large, cut into bite-size pieces.
5. Stir together 1/4 cup mushroom-soaking liquid (discard remainder) with cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.
6. Cover bamboo shoots with cold water by 2 inches in a small saucepan, then bring just to a boil (to remove bitterness) and drain in a sieve.
7. Stir together vinegars, light soy sauce, sugar, and salt in another small bowl.
8. Heat a large sauce pan over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact.