Thankfully my boyfriend is a mostly adventurous foodie… well, about as adventurous as a vegetarian can be, because I love unique flavors especially sour and this soup does not disappoint!
Gotta get that mise en plase all ready and throw in the soup pot. Cause we are vegetarians, I get a little liberal with the veg I add to things, kinda helps make certain meals a little heartier… plus well, more veggies! Hence the carrots. Make sure your rice is cooking away in the cooker cause you’re gonna need it soon.
Because I like a loooot of flavor in my stocks and soups I’ve discovered little extras like rehydrating dried mushrooms in water. Now stay with me, it’s easy and usually a cheaper way to keep mushrooms around for longer than a few days. These are shitake and I have a bag of them in my spice cabinet. The flavor kick they add to stuff like soups, mushroom risotto and whatever else you can think of is AMAZING. DO THIS. And don’t forget to chop them up before you throw them in some warm to hot water for like 30 min. The best part about rehydrating (along with fresh) is that when they’re ready you can dump the whole thing in your recipe because the water is full of mushroom goodness. Try this and get back to me!
After that the soup veggies have softened and browned a tad, add in your stock, vinegar, sesame oil, mushrooms and other veggies like bamboo shoots. If you really wanna kick it up throw in some tofu and for the meat eaters a lot of hot and sour soup recipes I consulted use pork. So throw that in as well and boil away. While that’s cooking, make a slurry of two tablespoons cornstarch in water, completely dissolved. Pour that into the soup and bring to boil again.
Like now! In my cast iron skillet I started a bit of onion, the whites of two green onions, garlic, carrots, peas and zucchini squash. After a few minutes I plopped in a few of Gardein’s Meatless Beef Tips cause again, vegetarian and the BF loves the fake meats. Feel free to either omit those or throw in shrimp (YUM!), diced chicken, pork, WHATEVER! Once that was brown and happy, I cleared the middle, added a bit more oil and threw the rice in to brown on the bottom of the skillet for a few minutes. I made a cup of rice in my cooker, make as much or as little as you need and adjust the veggies as needed.
Now here’s my favorite part of making fried rice and soups like egg drop, THE EGG! God’s gift to the world and vegetarian’s in general was the egg. He knew what he was doing lemme tell you. It is on the list of my perfect foods, someday I’ll share that list because it’s pretty funny. One hint my list of perfect foods includes stuff like eggs and popcorn. Man, I could live off popcorn.
In your fried rice make a well in the middle and pour a beaten egg in to cook. Use your spoon to move it around, essentially making scrambled eggs in the middle. Once the eggs are close to being finished start stirring them into the surrounding rice to finish cooking. Fried Rice is done dude!
While that’s finishing use your spoon to stir the soup in a circular motion, now pour a beaten egg into the middle of the pot ALL WHILE STIRRING!! Look at that!! Let the soup continue to cook for a few minutes. Soup is now done dude! Throw some green onions on the top and dish it up!
Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Adapted from The Woks of Our Lives (best food blog name every)
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch + water
4-5 dried Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
10 Baby Bella Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 Medium Onion, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
1 Carrot, chopped
Other veggies you have on hand: bamboo shoots, etc
1 clove Garlic, minced
6 cups Vegetable Stock
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flake
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
3 Tablespoons White Vinegar (I saw some recipes call for balsamic, rice, white, your choice. I chose white with a dash of rice)
1 pinch Sugar
Directions:
1. Cook onions, celery, carrots till softened
2. Make a slurry of cornstarch and set aside
3. Rehydrate mushrooms in warm to hot water while soup cooks
4. Add stock, vinegar, oil and any other veggies or meats to soup
5. Stir the soup will adding the cornstarch slurry, bring to boil
6. Reduce heat, stir in beaten egg in a circular motion
7. Cook for an additional 3 minutes
Veggie Fried Rice Recipe
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/4 Cup Onion, chopped
1/4 Cup Frozen Carrot and Pea mix
2 white ends of Green Onions, chopped
1 clove Garlic
1 Zucchini Squash, chopped
1 Cup Meatless Meat of your choice, can be omitted
1 Cup White or Brown rice, pre-cooked in rice cooker
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Egg, beaten
Directions
1. Cook onions and garlic till they begin to soften
2. Add in veggies and cook till they soften
3. Form a well in the middle of the veggies, add additional oil. Add rice to brown a bit in the skillet
4. Add in soy sauce and stir
5. Form a well in the middle of the mixture and add the beaten egg. Let cook till becomes like scrambled eggs.
6. Incorporate eggs into the surrounding rice mixture
7. Serve with green onions on top
Bon Appetit!
What have you been cooking in your kitchen?
