On 1/20/2010 3:07 PM, Arri London wrote:
>
>
> dsi1 wrote:
>>
>> On 1/19/2010 6:16 AM, James Silverton wrote:
>>> Hello All!
>>>
>>> I note a recipe for Hot and Sour Soup by Jean B in r.f.recipes. It looks
>>> authentic using white pepper for heat. I wonder if any others are as
>>> horrible as me and prefer a hotter version using Sriracha sauce?
>>>
>>
>> The whole point of hot and sour soup is it's total reliance on
>> black/white pepper and vinegar as it's main flavor components - that's
>> rather unique. I don't add any Srichacha myself. OTOH, I can see how the
>> taste of the soup might get kind of boring after a while.
>
>
> None of my Chinese friends used anything but ground white or black
> pepper, black vinegar and a bit of soy sauce to season their hot and
> sour soup. It was a way to clean the bits and pieces out of the fridge.
> It couldn't ever be boring cos the ingredients change each time it was
> made.

I never found it boring but why else would anyone add Srichacha sauce?
I've made it a few times and it's just chicken stock with some pork bits
and bamboo shoots and some tofu and whatever else you'd want to add and
some thickener and of course pepper and vinegar and soy sauce. I don't
usually have that Chinese ear fungus mushrooms but shitakes work ok. I
do think it important to keep the whatever you put in there in the
correct form - fine strips. Some folks will want to add some beaten eggs
but I don't go there myself. :-) I'd like to add some scallops but have
no idea on how to go about breaking scallops down into fine strips.