America's Test Kitchen Hot Sour Soup

Ingredients

• 7 ounces extra firm tofu, drained
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, plus an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons

• 1 (6 ounce)  boneless center cut pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick and sliced in julienne strips
• 3 tablespoons cold water, plus 1 additional teaspoon
• 1 large egg
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup bamboo shoot, sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips (from one 5-ounce can)
• 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 cup)
• 5 tablespoons black vinegar (or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar see note above)
• 2 teaspoons chili oil (see note above)
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 3 medium scallions, sliced thin

Directions

1. 1

   Place tofu in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight with 2 heavy cans; let stand at least 15 minutes (tofu should release about 1/2 cup liquid). Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in medium bowl; toss pork with marinade and set aside for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30 minutes).

2. 2

   Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in small bowl and mix thoroughly; set aside, leaving spoon in bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch with remaining 1 teaspoon water in small bowl; add egg and beat with fork until combined. Set aside.

3. 3

   Bring broth to boil in large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. While broth simmers, dice tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Add tofu and pork, including marinade, to soup, stirring to separate any pieces of pork that stick together. Continue to simmer until pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, chili oil, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce; turn off heat.

5. 5

   Without stirring soup, use soupspoon to slowly drizzle very thin streams of egg mixture into pot in circular motion. Let soup sit 1 minute, then return saucepan to medium-high heat. Bring soup to gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat. Gently stir soup once to evenly distribute egg; ladle into bowls and top with scallions.