Chinese hot and sour soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 100 g chicken, cooked
• 60 g bell pepper(s), fresh red
• 60 g bamboo slices, cut into strips, fresh
• 60 g tofu, fresh
• 10 g morels, dried, black, Chinese
• 2 eggs (whisked)
• 1 bunch of chives
• 800 ml chicken broth (instant product)
• 3 tsp vinegar concentrate (25%)
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• Pepper, freshly ground black
• 1 small chili pepper(s), fresh, finely chopped, red
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 clove(s) garlic, freshly chopped
• 4 tbsp potato flour / tapioca flour, mixed with 8 tbsp cold water
• Oil (sesame oil)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Soak the morels in hot water for at least half an hour, then cut into pieces. Cook the chicken, i.e. simply fry it in a pan with a little oil and then chop it up. Cut the bell peppers and tofu into fine strips. Cut bamboo into strips or, better yet, buy it pre-cut from a Chinese supermarket. Bring the chicken stock to a boil along with the chicken, chili, and garlic. Then add the morels, bamboo, bell peppers, and tofu. Bring the soup to a boil again, then season with vinegar, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring the soup to a boil again, add the potato starch, stirring constantly, and stir the eggs into the boiling soup. Season to taste with more vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Ladle the soup into small bowls (traditional rice bowls are best), sprinkle some finely chopped chives over each bowl, and drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil. Tip: Be careful with the small, hot chili. If you don’t like it too hot, remove the seeds. However, this soup needs to be pretty hot. For a large pot that makes about 20 servings, I use about 6 of these little devils. The heat makes the soup the perfect hangover cure and tastes great at the end of a party long after midnight. Problem: I don’t always manage to thicken the soup properly, but that doesn’t detract from the flavor. If anyone has a tip or a different thickening method (instead of tapioca flour) that works for a hot and sour soup, please let me know!