April 19: Simmering Hot and Sour Soup

I am skipping this recipe this year. I might make it next year.

ETA: 4/19/14

Even though I thought I would not like this recipe, I went ahead and made it for tonight's dinner. I started by gathering the ingredients at about noon:

In the crockpot, I combined a quart of chicken broth, a can of bamboo shoots, a cup of cooked chicken, sliced shiitakes, 2 tbsp. of soy sauce, 3 tbsp. of rice vinegar, and 1 1/2 tsp. of chili paste. I cooked it on low for 4 hours.

I added 4 oz. of tofu, 2 tsp. of sesame oil, and 2 tbsp. of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken it. Then I cooked it on high for about 10 more minutes:

I served it with sliced green onions on top:

This soup was surprisingly hearty and good. I was expecting it to be more of an appetizer, but it filled me up pretty well. I liked the bamboo shoots. I think it would have been just as good if not better with twice the chicken instead of the tofu. But the tofu wasn't horrible because it took on the flavor of the broth, which was delicious and not too spicy.