Sweet and sour soup ala Szechuan

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 100 g pork schnitzel, fresh or frozen
• 200 g tomato juice
• 250 g water
• 1 tsp, leveled chicken broth
• 2 m.-large shiitake mushroom(s), dried
• 10 g Mu-Err mushrooms (cloud ears)
• 1 small chili pepper(s), green, fresh or frozen
• 50 g tofu, optional
• 1 tbsp tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 5 g chicken broth
• 3 g beef bouillon
• 1 egg(s), size M
• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch(s) black pepper, from the mill
• 1 tsp ketjap manis
• 1 tsp Arak Masak
• 1 tsp tapioca flour
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp sesame oil, dark
• 1 pinch(s) chicken broth
• 1 pinch(s) black pepper, from the mill
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce, dark
• 2 rice wine vinegar, clear, mild
• 1 tbsp sesame oil, light
• 1 small spring onion(s), only the green part

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 40 minutes

Lightly freeze the fresh pork schnitzel, thaw the frozen pork schnitzel, and cut it into matchstick-sized strips. Mix the first four ingredients for the marinade until smooth and marinate the meat. Sprinkle the tapioca flour over the pork and stir in the orange juice. Marinate the meat for 1 hour at room temperature, then stir in the sesame oil. Meanwhile, for garnish, wash the spring onion and slice the green part crosswise into thin rings. Wash the small green chili and slice it crosswise into thin slices, leaving the seeds and discarding the stem. Cut the tofu crosswise into 5x5mm thick strips. Add the beef to the soup. Heat 150g of the water and dissolve the instant chicken stock in it. Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and cloud ears and let it swell for 30 minutes. Squeeze the stock out of the mushrooms and use it in the soup. Cut the mushroom caps into thin strips. Discard the tough stems. Mix the tapioca flour with the orange juice until smooth. Combine the remaining water, tomato juice, and soaking broth with the mushrooms in a sufficiently large pot and bring the broth to a boil. Dissolve the chicken and beef broth in the water. Stir in the pork and its marinade, separating any sticky strips. Stir in the chili. Briefly stir the dissolved tapioca flour and add it to the broth while stirring. Continue to simmer the broth. Crack the egg and whisk it well with the sunflower oil and salt. Stir it into the soup in a very thin stream. Immediately remove the soup from the heat and let it rest with the lid on for 1 minute. Stir the seasoning ingredients into the soup and adjust the seasoning to taste if desired. Garnish the finished soup, serve hot, and enjoy. Note: This world-famous soup was originally made with chicken blood. This is not available everywhere, nor is it to everyone’s taste. Today, this soup comes in many variations. Bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and golden needles are also used as garnishes. I highly recommend against canned bamboo shoots, as they require a good hour of cleaning, as the canned flavor spoils the entire soup. They’re not available in jars here. On the other hand, neither bamboo nor golden shoots add much flavor; they’re used primarily for their texture. Soybean sprouts, asparagus, and salsify are good substitutes.