Hot-and-sour Soup

Day 131: Now THIS is a good hot-and-sour soup! And it couldn't have been prepared more timely. The overnight low is forecast to be 9 degrees F. on Tuesday night. That said, I didn't plan it that way. I just wanted to make the soup because the pandemic has kept me out of my favourite Chinese restaurant for over two years now, and that's too long to go without eating hot-and-sour. I've made this dish on many occasions, but never with quite all the right ingredients. This time around, I decided to remedy that, although I did substitute a blend of white rice vinegar and balsamic for the black Chinese vinegar. For me, the flavour of hot-and-sour soup pivots on two things: cloud-ear fungus and "fun see," the latter being the first Chinese term I learned for glass noodles (also known as "sai fun"). I prefer the Korean-style sweet-potato glass noodle (jap chae noodle) to those made with mung beans. The shiitake mushrooms give the soup a bit of extra "chew," but be sure you rehydrate them well. And be warned: cloud-ears reconstitute to an amazing size when soaked in warm water. You'll only need a loose tablespoonful of the dried form.

1 16-ounce can of chicken broth
1 1/2 cans water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp (or more) black fungus - hydrated, sliced
3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms - hydrated, sliced
1/8 cup julienne bamboo shoots
1/8 cup thinly sliced napa greens (optional)
1 green onion, greens only, cut into small pieces
1/2 tsp minced ginger
several pieces of Chinese barbecue pork (char siu) sliced thinly (optional)
1/4 block extra firm tofu, sliced into strips (firm will also work)
2 beaten eggs
1 3/4 oz. Korean sweet potato glass noodles, prepared
1 Tbsp sesame oil

SEASONINGS 1:
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch mixed with water

SEASONINGS 2:
2 Tbsp black rice vinegar (or substitute 1 Tbsp. each rice vinegar and balsamic vinegar)
1 tsp white pepper

Rehydrate mushrooms for 4 hours. Prepare glass noodles separately by boiling for 5 minutes. Then toss with sesame oil to prevent sticking and set aside. Slice rehydrated mushrooms thinly. Combine stock, mushrooms, vegetables and ginger (not tofu or eggs) and cook until vegetables are done, but still firm. Add tofu. Add beaten eggs, drizzling them into the soup while very gently stirring it, but be careful not to break the tofu. Add prepared glass noodles and bring soup back to the boil. Then add first seasonings and stir gently until cornstarch clears. Just before removing from the heat, add rice vinegar and white pepper. Serve with a garnish of scallions or cilantro if desired.