Hot & Sour Soup with Porcini Broth

If you make all broth by yourself.Use 250 g veg scraps + 850 g water, then gently simmer and reduce until you reach 750 g broth.

About 6 servings of hot soup

Ingredients

Broth Base

• 750 ml strained vegetable broth (above/unsalted)

• 750 ml water(for porcini broth)

• 15 g dried porcini mushrooms

• 2 tsp vegetable broth powder

• 2 tsp salt (adjust)

Vegetables & protein

• 1 cup soft tofu, cubed (or softened soy curd)

• 1 cup fresh tomato, chopped

• 2 cups vegetables or mushroom (cloud ear.enoki, leek, bamboo shoot etc)

Aromatic oil

• 2tsp roasted sesame oil

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

• 20g fresh chili, chopped

Seasoning (mix all in a small bowl)

• 1 tbsp raw cane sugar

• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

• 4tbsp balsamic vinegar(or Chinese black vinegar)

• 2tbsp light soy sauce

  
  

Thickener

• 3tbsp cornstarch

• 6tbsp cold water

  • some chopped green onion ,more chili oil(optional topping)

  
  

Instructions

1. Porcini preparation.

   Do not rinse the dried porcini mushrooms.

   Soak them in 750 ml of cold water at room temperature for 4 hours.

   Then let it simmer for 20minutes.Strain the liquid to remove any sand.

   You may clean the rehydrated mushrooms separately and return them to the soup in the step 4. But the most important step is to extract a rich, flavorful broth.

   

   

   

2. Build the soup base

   Bring the clear porcini broth to a gentle simmer with the home made vegetable broth, salt, and optional vegetable broth powder.

3. Add aromatics

   In a small frying pan. Heat up some roasted sesame oil and let garlic, ginger, and chili sizzle until the kitchen smells incredible.

   

4. Vegetables and tofu

   Add tofu, tomato, and vegetables of your choice into the soup. Let the soup simmer for 5–7 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender.

5. Season the broth

   Stir in sugar, white pepper, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and roasted sesame garlic chili oil. Taste and adjust salt or acidity if needed.

6. Thicken the soup

   In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with water until smooth. Slowly pour it into the soup while stirring continuously. Simmer for 1–2 minutes until the soup thickens and turns glossy. Add some chopped green.

   

7. Serve hot