Chinese Soup, Free Recipes

Hot and Sour Soup
(Hot and Sour Soup is reputed to be good for colds)

Ingredients:

1 cake tofu (fresh tofu if possible)
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, shredded
2 Tbsp black fungus (Wood Ear)
or 3 - 4 Chinese dry mushrooms
small handful dry lily buds
2 ounces pork tenderloin, julienned
Marinade:
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
1/2 tsp sesame seed oil
6 cups water (or 6 cups water and 1 cup Campbell's chicken broth)*
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp red rice vinegar 1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion
1 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
white pepper to taste (no more than 1 tablespoon)
1 egg
Mixture:
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Shred pork. Mix marinade ingredients and marinade pork for 15 minutes.
2. To reconstitute the wood ears, soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Rinse, and cut into thin pieces. If ubstituting mushrooms, cut off the stems and cut into thin strips. Cut tofu into small squares. Cut bamboo shoots into strips, and then into fine slices.
3. Boil water. When it is boiling add all the ingredients in I and II. Add the vegetables first. Stir. Add the tofu. When the broth is boiling, add the marinated pork. Add the remaining ingredients in III, except for the green onion. Beat the egg well. Set aside. Test the broth and adjust the taste if desired. (If using chicken broth, you may want to add a bit more rice vinegar).
Mix the cornstarch and water. Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring while it is being added. Let the broth come back to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove the broth from the stove. Slowly drop in the beaten egg, stirring in one direction at the same time. Add the green onion and white pepper to taste. Drizzle with chili oil if desired.
This dish can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. When making the soup, leave out the tofu. When ready to serve, thaw, add the tofu and bring to boiling. When the soup is boiling, add the egg.

Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound of medium-size shrimps
A dozen mushrooms
1 stalk of lemon grass
4 cups water
2 cups chicken stock
3 lime leaves
6 green peppercorns
3 slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (or 4 tablespoons of soy sauce)
3 tablespoons of lime juice
6 hot peppers, pounded lightly (less, depending on taste)
1/2 cup of roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves

Directions:

Remove the shrimp shell but leave the tails (for appearance). Then cut open the back of each shrimp to remove the veins. Clean the mushrooms with water and dry them well before cutting each into quarters. Trim root and tough layers from lemon grass. Thinly slice first six inches. Bring 2 cups of stock to boil.

Bring 4 cups of water to boil, then add the stock, lemon grass, lime leaves, and shrimps. When the shrimps turn pink, add mushrooms, ginger, peppercorns and salt. Remove the pot from heat after boiling. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and hot peppers to taste. Serve the soup while still hot in individual soup cups and top each cup with a sprinkle of coriander.

Red Bean Soup

This soup is a popular snack or can be served as a sweet dessert soup. Azuki beans are a "yang" or warming food. Tangerine peel is used in many recipes, and is thought to aid digestion.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces (50 grams) tinned lotus nuts (optional)
8 ounces (250 grams) red azuki beans
1 strip dried tangerine peel (or substitute fresh orange peel)
4 cups water
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Rinse the azuki beans, then soak in cold water for at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain. Bring a pot with 4 cups of water to boil. Add the azuki beans and tangerine or orange peel, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for an hour. Add the lotus nuts and simmer for another hour. Once the beans are tender and as soft as they are going to get (just starting to break apart) add the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Serve hot.

Sparerib Soup

Ingredients:

9 oz (250g) pork spareribs
1 tsp scallions, chopped, white parts only
5 tsp vegetable oil
1/8 tsp rice wine
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp MSG
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped

Directions:
1. Wash the spareribs and chop into 1 inch by 2 inch (3cm X 5 cm) pieces.
2. Heat the oil in a work over high heat until the oil surface ripples. Add the spareribs and stir-fry for 10 minutes, or until the ribs turn a lighter color and give off most of their juices. Place in a heavy casserole with the salt and ginger.

Add 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of water, cover and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 hours over high heat, replenishing the water if necessary. Add the MSG and scallions. Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and serve.