Hot and Sour Soup (Suan La Tang)
Hot and sour soup is a staple of many Chinese restaurants, but it’s also common in Chinese and Taiwanese homes around the globe. Don’t be scared off by the many unusual ingredients used in this recipe from Grandma Ellen Shyu Chou (see page 72). If you can’t find any of them, or don’t want to use them all, the soup will taste just as good with just a few basic ingredients.
Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 6 to 8 first-course servings
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 ounces pork loin or chop, cut into slivers (¼ cup) (optional)
- Soy sauce
- 8 cups chicken stock (recipe on page 42), pork stock, or water
- ¹⁄³ cup white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 6 ounces medium or firm tofu, cut into 2- by ¼- by ¼-inch strips (¾ cup)
- 5 ounces fresh or canned bamboo shoots, cut into julienne pieces (½ cup)
- ¾ ounce (½ cup) dried wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated, cleaned (see page 12), and chopped
- 1 ounce (¼ cup) dried lily buds, rehydrated (see Pat’s Notes)
- 4 medium dried black mushrooms, rehydrated (see page 11) and cut into thin slices (½ cup)
- ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup water to make a slurry
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Sesame oil
- Chopped green onions for garnish
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions:
- Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat for 45 seconds to 1 minute. Swirl in the oil and heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer. Stir in the pork and add a splash of soy sauce for color. Stir and cook for about 1 minute.
- In a large saucepan, combine the stock, ¹⁄³ cup soy sauce (or to taste), vinegar, and white pepper. Add the pork, tofu, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, lily buds, and black mushrooms. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Pour the cornstarch slurry slowly into the soup, stirring constantly until it thickens and returns to a boil, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Moving in a circular motion around the pot, pour the egg into the soup through the tines of a fork or a pair of chopsticks to help it flow in a slow, steady stream. You want the egg to form wispy strands, not one lumpy mass. Gently stir in one direction to integrate the egg into the soup.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with green onions and cilantro.
Pat’s Notes: Dried lily buds (golden needles, lily flowers, or tiger lily buds) are the dried unopened flowers of day lilies. Before cooking, soak the buds in warm water for about 30 minutes until softened. Then strip the hard knobby ends and tie a knot in the middle of each bud to prevent it from opening during cooking. Look for dried lily buds that are golden rather than brown and brittle.
Grandma Says: If you don’t have stock on hand, water makes a good soup base too.
Sweet and Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)
In Vietnamese, canh chua literally means “sour soup.” However, this refreshing soup has a lovely mélange of flavors comprising far more than just sour notes. The southern Vietnamese staple was served often when Huong C. Nguyen was growing up. A New York fashion designer who fuses her Vietnamese heritage with modern global influences, Huong was named for Song Huong (“Perfume River” in English), which runs through Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam and the birthplace of her father. The soup was the perfect palate cleanser for a meat dish like Caramelized Chicken with Lemongrass and Chilies (page 179). A big bowl of the soup would be placed in the middle of the table and ladled into individual bowls to sip from throughout the meal.
Time: 1 hour
Makes: 6 to 8 first-course servings
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces catfish fillets, cut into 1½-inch chunks (or any firm fish such as halibut and salmon, or peeled and deveined shrimp)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 7 cups water
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped into large chunks (3 cups)
- 1 cup pineapple chunks (preferably fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (see page 25)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved and cut into thin crescents
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 fat 10-inch (4-ounce) taro stem (see Pat’s Notes), peeled and cut crosswise into 1-inch diagonal slices
- 1½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup (3 ounces) fresh mung bean sprouts, tails snapped off
- 2 red Thai chilies, cut into rounds
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
Garnishes:
- ½ cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves
- ½ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 green onions, green parts only, cut into 1-inch diagonal slices
- 2 red Thai chilies, cut into rounds
- Fish sauce for dipping
- Garlic cloves, smashed with the flat part of a cleaver or large knife
Instructions:
- In a medium bowl, season the fish with the salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- In a large stockpot, bring the water, tomatoes, pineapple, and tamarind paste to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes soften and their skins start to peel.
- Meanwhile, preheat a medium skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute. Swirl in the oil and heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer. Add the yellow onion and garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Tip in the fish pieces and cook for 30 seconds on each side. (Don’t worry if the fish is still pinkish.)
- Add the partially cooked fish and onion to the stockpot along with the taro stem and sugar. Raise the heat to high. Cook, skimming off any scum or foam that rises to the surface, until the fish turns opaque, about 2 minutes.
- Add the bean sprouts and chilies and give the soup a good stir. Sprinkle with fish sauce, then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust the hot, sour, salty, and sweet flavors, if desired.
- Ladle the soup into a large serving bowl. Arrange the basil, cilantro, green onions, and chilies on a plate. Pour fish sauce into small dishes and float a garlic clove in each. To eat, ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish as desired. Dip the fish and vegetable pieces in fish sauce.
Pat’s Notes: Taro stem is the English name for the vegetable known as bac ha in Vietnamese. They are crisp and slightly spongy, their porous structure enabling them to absorb the flavors of the stock. As they cook, the stalks become tender and soft. Buy taro stems that are crisp, without any sign of wilting, sliminess, or discoloration. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. To peel, use the tip of a small paring knife to lift the edge of the skin at the bottom of the stem and use your fingers to peel a strip down its length.
