This is a classic Chinese-American soup that balances spicy, savory, and sour flavors. The key to the texture is rehydrating dried mushrooms for a chewy bite and thickening the broth with a cornstarch slurry at the end. The egg is drizzled in while stirring to create thin ribbons, not clumps.
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Soaking Time 1 hourhour
Total Time 1 hourhour35 minutesminutes
(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
For the Soup Base
0.5ozdried Shiitake mushrooms
0.5ozdried Wood ear mushrooms
3quartschicken stock
1tspsugar
1 1/2tspkosher salt
1 1/2Tbsplight soy sauce
1Tbspdark soy sauce
1 1/2tsptoasted sesame oil
3/4tspground white pepper
6Tbspwhite vinegar
For the Add-ins & Thickener
12ozfirm tofucut into thin strips
1can bamboo shoots8 oz, julienned
1/2cupcornstarch
1/2cupwater
2large eggsbeaten
Method
Soak shiitake and wood ear mushrooms in hot water for 1 hour until soft. Slice into strips.
Bring chicken stock to boil with sugar, salt, soy sauces, and sesame oil.
Add sliced mushrooms, tofu strips, and bamboo shoots. Return to simmer.
Whisk cornstarch with cold water to make slurry.
Slowly stir in half the slurry until soup begins to thicken. Add more if needed.
While stirring soup in circular motion, slowly drizzle in beaten eggs to create ribbons.
Turn off heat, stir in white pepper and vinegar.
Adjust seasoning with additional vinegar or white pepper to taste.
Notes
Continuous stirring while adding eggs is essential for proper ribbon formation.