This has always been one of my favorite soups, but a few of the ingredients are fairly hard to come by, namely the dried mushrooms. But after finally just ordering some from Amazon, I was able to make it myself at home.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 1/2 ounce dried wood ear mushrooms (black fungus)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 4-8 ounces pork or chicken, cut in thin strips
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced and separated
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup carrots, julienned
  • 2 tablespoons red bell pepper, julienned
  • 1/2 cup bamboo shoots, julienned
  • 1 cup soft tofu, sliced in thin strips
  • 2 large eggs, beaten

Sauce Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Slurry Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons cold water

Directions

  1. Cover dried mushrooms with hot water, and soak until soft (about 15-20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Drain well and slice into thin strips.
  2. Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil in small bowl to create the sauce mixture; set aside.
  3. Whisk together cornstarch and water in separate small bowl to create the slurry; set aside.
  4. Heat vegetable oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger, light parts of green onion, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Push to one side. Add pork or chicken, and stir-fry until nearly done. Pour in chicken broth, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Stir in carrot, red pepper, bamboo shoots, tofu, and sauce mixture. Let simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
  6. Raise heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Stir soup slowly with a spoon while pouing in beaten eggs in a steady stream. Keep stirring until soup returns to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.
  7. Stir cornstarch slurry again, then slowly add to soup while stirring constantly. Turn off heat as soon as soup thickens. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  8. Serve garnished with scallion greens.