Hot and Sour Soup needs no introduction per se. Variations of preparing and ingredients are seen in many Chinese restaurants around the world.

SoJo preserves the most authentic traditionalist approach to this soup. It should not contain hot chillies or ginger – the heat comes from ground white pepper and in order to achieve the freshness of the heat, freshly ground white is best used.

SoJo’s recipe is simple to prepare and gives the subtle warmth during autumn and winter months without overwhelming.

Ingredients – Serves 4

* 300g lean pork, thinly shredded (5cm length, 1/2 a pencil thickness)
* 200g silken tofu or bean curd, thinly julienned (5cm length, 1/2 cm thickness)
* 4 large pieces dried black Chinese mushroom (soaked overnight in water and when soft julienned as above)
* 150g fresh or tinned shredded bamboo shoots (rinsed and drained )
* 2 litres of chicken or meat stock
* 2 teaspoons of salt
* 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing rice wine
* 2 eggs thoroughly beaten
* 1 teaspoon of cornflour
* 50ml hot water
* 6 tablespoons of Chinese black rice vinegar
* 4 tablespoons of sesame oil
* 4 teaspoons of freshly ground white pepper
* 2 sprigs of finely chopped spring onions
* For presentation, 1 large Chinese soup bowl (or any large serving bowl) and 4 soup or rice bowls

Blanch the shredded pork, tofu, mushroom and bamboo shoot in hot boiling water for 90 seconds.

Remove the above, drain and place aside. Mix the hot water and cornflour in a mixing bowl.

Bring stock to boil in large saucepan.

Reduce stock to medium simmering and adding the shredded pork, tofu, mushroom and bamboo shoots into the stock.

Return to the boil for one minute while adding in salt, dribble pour the beaten egg all over, stirring and add in the corn flour and hot water mixture and stir to even consistency and lastly in the Shaoxing wine and stir. Pour all into a large bowl.

Arrange four soup or rice bowls on the side and in each bowl add in 1 1/2 tablespoon of Chinese black vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper and 1/4 of the chopped spring onions. Ladle the content from the large bowl into the smaller soup bowls and serve.

The art of this soup – stirring is necessary to bring the vinegar and the freshness of the white pepper to the surface just before supping from the individual bowls.

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