I remembered this recipe in my HOtter Than Hell cookbook by Jane Butel. I thought there might be something here to help you formulate your perfect recipe. DH scanned for me, I didn't have to type it all, lol. I like the recipes in this book, but haven't made this one. I'm not familiar with Chinese red rice vinegar.
Szechwan Hot & Sour Soup
This very popular spicy-yet-sour soup is a wonderful warm-up on cold days, especially after an afternoon of skiing or skating. As a first course, it's a terrific starter for any Oriental menu. Look for the tigerlily buds and dried mushrooms in Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.
6 dried cloud ear mushrooms
6 dried Chinese black mushrooms
6 dried tigerlily buds
4 1/2 cups double-strength chicken broth
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil (or 1 more tablespoon peanut oil)
1 tablespoon (about) light soy sauce
1/3 pound lean, boneless pork or skinned, boned chicken breast, cut in long, thin strips
1 (about 4-oz.) cake fresh bean curd, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, cut in thin strips
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons Chinese red rice vinegar
2 teaspoons thinly sliced green onion (including some green top)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, Hot Hot Oil (recipe follows), or purchased chile oil
Sugar to taste, if desired
Pour boiling water over cloud ears, black mushrooms and tigerlily buds. Let soak 15 minutes. Drain; cut off woody parts of mushrooms and hard tips of buds, then slice mushrooms and buds very thinly. Set aside. Heat broth in a large saucepan.
Meanwhile, heat peanut oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large skillet; when oil is hot, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add pork or chicken and stir-fry just a few minutes or until crisp on edges. Add sliced mushrooms and tigerlily buds and stir to brown edges lightly. Then add meat-mushroom mixture to broth and stir well; stir in bean curd and bamboo shoots.
When soup comes to a gentle simmer, pour in beaten eggs, stirring soup with a swirling motion. As soon as eggs start to cook, remove soup from heat.
Rinse 4 to 6 individual soup bowls or 1 large serving bowl with hot water. Then mix vinegar, green onion, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and white pepper, Hot Hot Oil or chile oil. Divide mixture equally among individual bowls or place all of it in large bowl. Taste soup and adjust seasonings, adding more soy sauce or perhaps a pinch of sugar if a less sour flavor is desired. Stir to mix the cloudlike shreds of egg evenly, then pour into individual bowls or serving bowl.
To eat, bring soup spoon up from the bottom of bowl to mix hot and sour flavors into each bite.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Hot Hot Oil
Ouch! If you make this oil hot enough, it really can cause long-lasting pain. When dried chiles are mixed with vegetable oil, their own volatile oils—the source of chile heat—are quickly drawn out and dispersed throughout the oil, ready to cling to the tastebuds of the unwary. Nonetheless, Hot Hot Oil is a terrific table condiment for those who take hot foods seriously, as well as a:great appetizer dip for bland vegetables and seafood (such as jicama and scallops). You can make the oil just plain hot to painfully hot, depending on the chiles you use.
2 cups soybean or other vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups caribe, crushed Northern New Mexico red chile (for hot oil)
OR pequin quebrado (for very hot oil)
OR tiny dried Chinese hot red chiles (for painfully hot oil)
Mix oil and caribe, pequin or chiles in a small, heavy saucepan. Warm until oil almost begins to bubble, then reduce heat; caribe or chiles should not turn black. (If you do not have a good source of low, controlled heat and a heavy saucepan, heat oil first, then add 1 bit of caribe or chile. If it floats and keeps its redness, add the rest; cover and watch carefully, stirring occasionally.) Cook over low heat until chiles darken but do not turn black. Cool overnight at room temperature, then strain oil through cheesecloth. Stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, this orange-red oil will keep indefinitely. Let warm to room temperature to serve.
Makes 1 to 1/2 cups.
NOTE: Asian cooks typically allow the chiles to blacken in the oil. I feel that this results in stronger, less fresh-tasting oil, so I recommend removing the oil from the heat before the chiles blacken.
Szechwan Hot & Sour Soup
This very popular spicy-yet-sour soup is a wonderful warm-up on cold days, especially after an afternoon of skiing or skating. As a first course, it's a terrific starter for any Oriental menu. Look for the tigerlily buds and dried mushrooms in Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.
6 dried cloud ear mushrooms
6 dried Chinese black mushrooms
6 dried tigerlily buds
4 1/2 cups double-strength chicken broth
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil (or 1 more tablespoon peanut oil)
1 tablespoon (about) light soy sauce
1/3 pound lean, boneless pork or skinned, boned chicken breast, cut in long, thin strips
1 (about 4-oz.) cake fresh bean curd, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, cut in thin strips
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons Chinese red rice vinegar
2 teaspoons thinly sliced green onion (including some green top)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, Hot Hot Oil (recipe follows), or purchased chile oil
Sugar to taste, if desired
Pour boiling water over cloud ears, black mushrooms and tigerlily buds. Let soak 15 minutes. Drain; cut off woody parts of mushrooms and hard tips of buds, then slice mushrooms and buds very thinly. Set aside. Heat broth in a large saucepan.
Meanwhile, heat peanut oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a wok or large skillet; when oil is hot, sprinkle on 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add pork or chicken and stir-fry just a few minutes or until crisp on edges. Add sliced mushrooms and tigerlily buds and stir to brown edges lightly. Then add meat-mushroom mixture to broth and stir well; stir in bean curd and bamboo shoots.
When soup comes to a gentle simmer, pour in beaten eggs, stirring soup with a swirling motion. As soon as eggs start to cook, remove soup from heat.
Rinse 4 to 6 individual soup bowls or 1 large serving bowl with hot water. Then mix vinegar, green onion, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and white pepper, Hot Hot Oil or chile oil. Divide mixture equally among individual bowls or place all of it in large bowl. Taste soup and adjust seasonings, adding more soy sauce or perhaps a pinch of sugar if a less sour flavor is desired. Stir to mix the cloudlike shreds of egg evenly, then pour into individual bowls or serving bowl.
To eat, bring soup spoon up from the bottom of bowl to mix hot and sour flavors into each bite.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Hot Hot Oil
Ouch! If you make this oil hot enough, it really can cause long-lasting pain. When dried chiles are mixed with vegetable oil, their own volatile oils—the source of chile heat—are quickly drawn out and dispersed throughout the oil, ready to cling to the tastebuds of the unwary. Nonetheless, Hot Hot Oil is a terrific table condiment for those who take hot foods seriously, as well as a:great appetizer dip for bland vegetables and seafood (such as jicama and scallops). You can make the oil just plain hot to painfully hot, depending on the chiles you use.
2 cups soybean or other vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups caribe, crushed Northern New Mexico red chile (for hot oil)
OR pequin quebrado (for very hot oil)
OR tiny dried Chinese hot red chiles (for painfully hot oil)
Mix oil and caribe, pequin or chiles in a small, heavy saucepan. Warm until oil almost begins to bubble, then reduce heat; caribe or chiles should not turn black. (If you do not have a good source of low, controlled heat and a heavy saucepan, heat oil first, then add 1 bit of caribe or chile. If it floats and keeps its redness, add the rest; cover and watch carefully, stirring occasionally.) Cook over low heat until chiles darken but do not turn black. Cool overnight at room temperature, then strain oil through cheesecloth. Stored tightly covered in the refrigerator, this orange-red oil will keep indefinitely. Let warm to room temperature to serve.
Makes 1 to 1/2 cups.
NOTE: Asian cooks typically allow the chiles to blacken in the oil. I feel that this results in stronger, less fresh-tasting oil, so I recommend removing the oil from the heat before the chiles blacken.