"aem" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hal Laurent wrote:
>> [snip]
>> I just checked my six Chinese cook books. Five of them
>> have hot and sour soup recipes, and not one of them has any red
>> pepper in them. (Curiously, "Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook"
>> maintains that you can't really make authentic hot and sour soup
>> in the US, 'cause it's impossible to get coagulated duck blood).
>>
>> You can make hot and sour soup plenty hot with black pepper, believe
>> me. [snip] It's best to ask for vinegar on the side (pepper is
>> usually already on the table) to correct the flavor.
>>
> Well, the thread is "Fake" hot and sour soup, and besides, the "hot"
> part is the least important. Textural contrasts provided by the tofu,
> mushrooms and more exotic fungi matter more, and above all, the quality
> of the Chinese black vinegar. I love "Mrs. Chiang's" cookbook,
> probably try harder to adhere to those recipes than any other book's.
> -aem
>

Isn't that a great cookbook? The recipes are universally great in my
experience. Too bad it's out of print. My copy is so food-stained and ratty
that you could probably make a decent stock by boiling it! I made her bon
bon chicken last night, great meal for hot weather.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.