When I'm Craving for Something Sour and Spicy!

The weather's killing me,
It's been sizzling hot during the day,
And then all the sudden it's like Arctic at night.
I need to figure something to warm myself up,
Something yummy, something sour and spicy!

Here's my resolution, sour and spicy soup-


Ingredients?

2 cans of chicken stock
3 garlic cloves (peeled)
3 ginger slices
2 pound of pork loin (sliced)
4 eggs (beated)
3 big wood ear (sliced)
7 shitake mushrooms (sliced)
1 bamboo shoot (peeled, sliced)
1 box of medium firm tofu (sliced)
4 cups of water
Chili sauce
Chinese black vinegar
Soy sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Corn Starch
Olive Oil
Some chopped scallion before serving

How?

First of all, don't be scared by that long list of ingredients,
It's really easy to make,
Trust me.

Let's marinate the pork slices first,
Just "massage" it with about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce,
Set it aside.

After washing and chopping the vegetables,
Prepare a deep soup pot and drizzle some olive oil in it.
Toss the garlic cloves and ginger slices in and pan fry it till golden brown,
Pick them out.

Pour in the marinated pork slices and fry it till semi-cooked.
Add all the sliced vegetables except tofu.
Stir fry for a little bit longer then it's time to pour in the chicken stock, 4 cups of water, and sliced tofu.

Let's spice up the soup with some freshly ground black pepper, salt, 1 big spoonful of chili sauce (don't use too much if you can't take the heat), and 3 spoonful of black vinegar.
Bring to a boil,
Turn to medium heat.

Have about 4 spoonful of corn starch and mix it with less than half cup of water.
Stir it well till everything's well blended.
Pour that into the soup, remember to stir the soup while pouring,
You don't wanna see chunks of gooey stuff in it.

Turn off the heat,
Pour in 4 beaten eggs,
Once again, remember to stir it because you're making sour and spicy soup, not egg drop soup!

Serve with chopped scallion.

What more can I ask for in this October weather?

Cindy's Rating: 7