*Pic 1 - Picture from http://rasamalaysia.com/hot-and-sour-soup/2/
My Variations from Recipe as Written: Quite a few variations from exactly how the recipe was written this time, owing primarily to what ingredients were available at the store. However, most of the changes likely had minimal impact on the taste. I doubled the recipe. I used a couple ounces more chicken stock than called for. I used "extra firm" tofu instead of "soft." I used baby portbello mushrooms instead of the white button variety. The recipe gave several options for vinegar; I used rice vinegar. And, I used four (4) tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce, instead of the three (3) tbsp of regular and one (1) tsp of "dark" soy sauce the recipe called for. Lastly, I added some green onions for color (and because I love green onion in my Asian soups).
General Thoughts: I am happy to say that my son, Hunter, cooked this soup with me tonight! He is the other person in my house that I can usually count on really liking Asian soups, and we were both pretty excited to try this one (since it was my first-ever attempt at Hot & Sour). My wife made a yummy Korean Sticky Chicken recipe, with cauliflower fried rice, so our soup was meant to be an awesome appetizer/side dish.
As we were preparing it, the smell was right, if you know what I mean? A good hot and sour soup in a Chinese restaurant has that pungent, vinegary, peppery nose to it, which signals your taste buds that they are in for a treat! The consistency was also spot on... Once it thickened up a bit with the cornstarch slurry, and we swirled in the egg, it looked and felt great!
But, that is when it went a little south... When I took that first bite, it was good, but it was missing... something. I think it definitely needed more "hot" (which I helped with some crushed red pepper in my bowl), and it needed a little more "sour" (which I helped with another little pour of vinegar into my bowl). Some more white pepper definitely would have helped too...
Polling the Fam: I thought it was decent, and I would certainly eat it again, but it was just sort of underwhelming. A really good hot and sour soup is something I remember and talk about (crave, even) after I've had it at a good Chinese restaurant. But this was not one of those... The soup was filling, edible, starting in the right direction, but ultimately forgettable. Hunter likewise felt like it needed something he couldn't put his finger on. He said he'd eat it again, but that he would likely not ask me to make it.
Verdict: Not a fan. (2 stars)
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