Soup Makes Me Happy

To me, soup equals happiness -- even when it's mid-summer. For whatever reason, I especially gravitate toward Asian soups. I make a quick, slightly unauthentic miso soup a couple times a week from chicken stock, greens, tofu and miso paste.

But with a little more effort, I can make a hot and sour soup that's better than most of my local Chinese restaurants. Of course, that's not saying much. This past summer, Tim and Nina Zagat wrote an op-ed in the Times lamenting the state of Chinese food in the U.S. I find myself almost surprised when the Chinese food is somewhat good, always expecting the worse and usually getting that (except when I trek to Chinatown or Flushing, that is). As far as the hot and sour soup, too often it's overly vinegary, not spicy or both.

Hot and Sour soup isn't just fairly easy but a great place to reuse leftovers. Any veggies you have lurking in the fridge -- toss 'em in. Same goes for meat -- from chicken to pork to shrimp. Make of it what you want.

Hot and Sour Soup

• 1 package mushrooms, sliced
• 3/4 cup chopped meat (pork, chicken, beef)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
• 6 to 8 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Hot chili oil, to taste, optional
• Sriracha, to taste, optional
• 1 can bamboo shoots, drained
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 package tofu (I prefer soft tofu but use whichever type you prefer), cut into squares
• 1  green onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Salt, to taste

NOTE: These are just the vegetables I had on hand -- feel free to add anything from spinach to bok choy to your soup. Get as creative as you want

In a pot, saute mushrooms and ginger until mushrooms are translucent. Add meat. Cook for a minute or two for flavors to merge. Add chicken stock, scraping up any meat or mushrooms that stuck to the pan. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

In small bowl, combine sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil (optional) and srirachi (optional). Add to soup. Taste and adjust the heat and vinegarness of soup. I like mine particularly hot so I add a bit more. If you can't quite taste the sourness of the vinegar, add a little more until you can.

Bring soup to boil. Slowly drop in the beaten egg, stirring the soup to break up the stream of eggs (like you would for egg drop soup). Reduce heat to simmer. Add bamboo shoots and tofu. Simmer for five minutes. Ladle in bowl and top with scallions.