Hot and Sour Soup
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup pork shredded pork
3 T corn starch
1 t sherry
2 large dried black mushrooms
1/4 cup dried wood ears
1/4 cup dried tiger lily stems
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, shredded
1-2 T oil
1 T soy sauce
6 cups Chicken Broth
2 T cider vinegar
2 T dark soy sauce      
1/2 cup bean curd, 1 inch cubes
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 drops Tabasco sauce (or as much as you wish for spicy soup to balance
flavors
1 T sesame oil
2 t chopped scallions
Instructions:
Directions:
1.  Mix the pork with sherry and 1 tsp corn starch(of the 3 TBS).
2.  Soak wood ears, mushrooms, tiger lillies with boiling water.  Cover and
soak for 15 minutes.  Cut any of these up in a way that is desirable to you.
The mushrooms are the only vegetable that require cutting up.
3.  Mix the remaining cornstarch with 1/2 cup of cold water and set aside.
4.  Use a large pot which will eventually cook the soup and add oil.  Heat
oil and add pork.  Cook several minutes until pink is gone.  Add the
mushrooms, wood ears, tiger lillies, bamboo shoots, light soy sauce and cook
for about 1 minute.  Add the chicken broth and dark soy sauce.  Cook until
soup becomes well heated.  Add cider vinegar. Add bean curd
5.  As soon as the soup begins to boil stir in the well-stirred cornstarch
mixture until the soup thickens.  Add the  Tabasco sauce.  Add Tofu.  
6.  Mix in the beaten egg, stirring constantly
7.  Taste the soup and adjust the vinegar, tabasco, soy sauce combination to
your desire.
8.  Add the sesame oil and scallions.

NOTE:  THE KEY TO A GOOD TASTE IS THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE HOT(TABASCO), THE
SOUR(VINEGAR), AND THE SOY SAUCE.  YOU MAY NEED TO EXPERIMENT TO FIT YOUR OWN
TASTE.  I usually double or triple this recipe.  You can also use pepper
instead of tabasco.  

# Servings:  4