← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 10 g Dried wood ear mushrooms
• 150 g pork loin, cut into thin strips
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp cornflour, for the pork
• 1.2 l chicken stock
• 1 tsp Ginger, finely grated
• 200 g firm tofu, cut into thin strips
• 60 g Bamboo shoots, cut into thin strips (optional)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
• 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp White pepper, ground, to taste
• 3 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch), mixed with 4 tbsp cold water
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil
• 2 Spring onion, finely sliced
• Salt
• 1 tsp Chilli oil (optional)

Method

1. Cover the shiitake and wood ear with hot water and soak for 20 min until soft. Squeeze them out, slice thinly and discard any hard stems. Meanwhile, toss the pork with the Shaoxing wine, the 1 tsp cornflour and a pinch of salt.
2. Bring the stock and ginger to the boil in a large pot. Add the mushrooms, wood ear and bamboo shoots and simmer for 5 min.
3. Stir in the pork, separating the strips, and simmer for 2 min until it turns opaque. Add the tofu, both soy sauces, vinegar and white pepper.
4. Stir the cornflour slurry, then pour it in slowly while stirring the soup in a circle. Let it bubble for 1 minute until it thickens and looks glossy.
5. Turn the heat to low. Stir the soup in one direction and drizzle in the beaten egg in a thin stream so it sets into silky ribbons. Leave it alone for a few seconds before stirring again.
6. Taste and add salt, more vinegar for sourness or pepper for heat. Finish with sesame oil, spring onion and chilli oil, and serve hot.

Tips

• The heat in this soup comes from white pepper, not chilli, so adjust it gradually.
• For a vegetarian version, skip the pork, use vegetable stock and add extra mushrooms.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook RecipeTin Eats Made With Lau