Recipe: Hot-and-Sour Soup

Makes 4 servings
Time: about 40 minutes

As taught to me many years ago by my good friend Peter Cheng, who made this daily for thirty years. All of the dried ingredients can be found in any Asian market and many supermarkets.

1 whole chicken breast, bone-in, about 1 lb, skin & excess fat removed
6 C chicken stock or water
5 dried lily buds, available at Asian markets
3 or 4 dried cloud ear or tree ear fungus, available at Asian markets
3 or 4 dried shiitake (sometimes labeled "black") mushrooms
½ lb soft or firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 T soy sauce
2 T rice or white vinegar
½ t freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
Salt to taste
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 T cornstarch mixed with 2 T water (optional)
1 T dark sesame oil
Minced scallions for garnish
Tabasco or other bottled hot sauce or hot sesame oil

Place the chicken and the stock together in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn the heat to high. When the stock or water boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through. Meanwhile, soak the lily buds, fungus, and shiitakes in hot water to cover until soft, 10 to 15 minutes; if the water cools before the shiitakes soften, drain and add more hot water.
Remove the chicken and, as soon as it is cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and chop it. Trim and shred the lily buds, trim and mince the fungus and mushrooms, and add all of this to the simmering broth. Return the chicken meat to the broth, along with the tofu, soy sauce, vinegar, and plenty of pepper---at least ½ teaspoon.
Taste and add more soy sauce, salt, pepper, and/or vinegar if necessary. Raise the heat a little bit and stir eggs into the soup, followed, if you like, by the cornstarch, which will thicken the already fairly thick mixture even more. Float the sesame oil on top of the soup, garnish, and serve, passing hot sauce or hot oil at the table.