Recipe: Make Hot and Sour Soup just like at a Chinese restaurant

Hot and sour soup is a true culinary gift. The fragrance is tantalizing and the sweet and tart flavors balance deliciously, along with spicy heat. I usually have a bag of shelled and deveined shrimp in the freezer, so the alluring soup provides a great last-minute meal.

Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp and Noodles

Yield: 2 large or 4 small servings

INGREDIENTS

20 ounces chicken broth or vegetable stock

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger

1/4 to 1 red Fresno chili, seeded and membranes removed, finely diced; see cook’s notes

3 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced

7 ounces raw shelled and deveined medium shrimp

3 1/2 ounces cooked and drained thin to medium-thin egg noodles

Cook’s notes: Adjust the chili to suit your taste. Add 1/4 or 1/2 of the Fresno chili and taste the soup. You can add more if you like. Chilies, even those harvested from the same bush, vary in their amount of fiery heat. Scoville units measure the heat in chili varieties. Red Fresno chilies contain 3,000 to 15,000 Scoville units, while jalapeños generally contain slightly less, between 2,500 to 10,000 Scoville points. Substitute a jalapeño for the Fresno if you like.

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients except the shrimp and noodles to a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then add the shrimp and noodles. Simmer gently for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the shrimp turns pink and is cooked through.

2. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more soy sauce if needed. Serve.

Source: Adapted from “The Soup Solution” by Charlotte Pike

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at CathyThomasCooks.com.