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Tofu Hot and Sour Soup

A soup made with tofu, pork, bamboo shoots, fungus, lily buds, and a seasoned broth.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 22 ingredients
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Why it works: Sesame and bamboo shoots share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53 recipes. Both carry nonanal, which smells fat, citrus. The science ↓

Tofu Hot and Sour Soup

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ingredients

  1. Shred pork and mix the marinate ingredients, then marinate the pork for 20 minutes.

  2. Cut tofu into small squares.

  3. Cut bamboo shoots into thin strips and then into fine slices.

  4. To reconstitute the fungus, soak in warm water for 20 minutes. Rinse, and cut into thin pieces.

  5. If substituting Chinese dried mushrooms, soak to soften, then cut off the stems and cut into thin strips.

  6. If using fresh mushrooms, wipe clean with a damp cloth and slice.

Make the soup

  1. Bring the water to a boil. When it is boiling, add the bamboo shoots, fungus or mushrooms, and the dried lily buds. Stir.

  2. Add the tofu. Bring back to a boil and add the marinated pork.

  3. Stir in the salt, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Test the broth and adjust the taste if desired. (If using chicken broth, you may want to add a bit more rice vinegar).

  4. Mix the cornstarch and water. Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring while it is being added. Let the broth come back to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove the broth from the stove.

Finish and serve

  1. Slowly drop in the beaten egg, stirring in one direction at the same time. Add the green onion and the white pepper to taste. Drizzle with chili oil if desired. Serve hot.

  2. If preparing ahead, freeze; when ready, thaw, add tofu, bring to boiling, add egg.

  3. Adjust the ratio of water to chicken stock as desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1816Calories
101 gProtein
58 gFat
219 gCarbs

Counts 18 of 23 ingredients. The other 5 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 18 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pork100g cooked242
Red Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Chicken100g cooked165
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tofu100g firm76
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Mushrooms1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Cakenot in our table0
Bamboo Shootsnot in our table0
Woodnot in our table0
Cloud Ear Fungusnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sesame + bamboo shootstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together53 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

  2. Tofu + sesametop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together250 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Bamboo shoots + cloud ear fungustop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1 recipe

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,417 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  5. Tofu + bamboo shootstop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together21 recipes

    Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tofu
Provides soft, tender pieces that hold their shape in the hot broth.
Pork tenderloin
Adds savory meat flavour and a tender bite when cooked briefly in the broth.
Cornstarch
Thickens the broth into the silky body typical of hot and sour soup.
Egg
Forms soft, silky ribbons when dropped slowly into the hot thickened broth.
Red rice vinegar
Supplies the sour note that defines the soup's hot and sour flavour.
Black fungus
Adds a crisp, springy texture to the soup.

The step that matters

Adding the cornstarch mixture. Pour the cornstarch slurry slowly while stirring, then bring the broth back to a boil. Adding it all at once or skipping the stirring causes clumps, and under-boiling leaves the starch unset so the broth stays thin.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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