-
1
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water.
-
2
Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute.
-
3
Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
-
4
Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame.
-
5
Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor.
-
6
Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant.
-
7
Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
-
8
Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
-
9
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth.
-
10
Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens.
-
11
Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring.
-
12
Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.)
-
13
Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.
-
14
Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat.
-
15
Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns.
-
16
Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch.
-
17
Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
-
18
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat.
-
19
Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
