glutenfreedirtcheap

This is not an inexpensive recipe.  It’s one of those things I did, because you can’t get this, unless you make it yourself, with gluten-free soy sauce.  It’s

Hot and Sour Soup.

not actually that labor-intensive, so it’s well worth the effort.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of dried wood ears, or about 1 ounce

a few tablespoons of corn, canola or soy oil, enough to cover the bottom of the soup pot

1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sriracha (Red chili paste of any kind will probably do. I’m not sure if sriracha is gluten-free, but it’s all they make in a sriracha plant, so it’s probably safe.)

1 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

3 or 4 two inch pieces of ginger

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup cilantro, to garnish

1/8 cup chopped spring onions, some in strips, to garnish

2 quarts (eight cups, “Yes, I had to look that up.”) gluten-free chicken stock without tomatoes–use veggie stock to make it vegetarian.

1 large egg

1 block of firm tofu (If you can get tofu that says, “gluten-free” on it, that’s probably better.)

3 tablespoons gluten-free cornstarch (to be dissolved in 1/4 cup water)

Kitchen Apparati:

large stock pot

cutting board

sharp knife

2 cup microwave safe bowl for reconstituting the wood ears and mixing egg

measuring spoon

measuring cup

ladle

heat-proof spatula or strainer

fork

Directions:

Put about a cup of water in the two-cup microwave-safe bowl and run the microwave for three minutes on high.  Put the wood ears in the water and let them sit while you do the rest of the prep. They should be soft in about twenty minutes. Peel your ginger and garlic cloves.  Mince the ginger. Chop the tofu into 2 inch pieces.  Mix the teaspoon of sugar, sprinkle of salt, 1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce and 1/4 cup rice vinegar in a measuring cup. Put your stock pot on the stove and turn the heat to a little less than medium high. Add the oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the ginger, garlic cloves, sriracha and wood ears.  Stir them around for about two minutes, until everything is well-heated. Add the soy sauce/sugar/vinegar mixture and the two quarts of stock.  Bring the soup to a boil, and let it boil for ten minutes.  Dissolve the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/4 cup of water in the measuring cup. Add the tofu and boil for another five minutes.  Reduce the heat to just above simmer and put a lid on the pan. Crack the egg into the empty wood-ear-reconstituting bowl and beat the egg with a fork, until it’s well mixed. Let the soup simmer for twenty minutes. Fish out the garlic cloves. Then, add the cornstarch and turn the heat down to simmer. Let the soup simmer for another ten minutes. Take the lid off and stir the soup, until it is swirling.Then, slowly pour in the egg.  Serves 4. Each serving is about $3.50.