Another South Beach recipe
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup green onions sliced
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 5 cups canned chicken broth
- 1 4-oz skinned and boned chicken breast half cut into thin strips may sub pork tenderloin
- 1/3 cup canned bamboo shoots cut into thin strips
- 1/4 c low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp hot sauce
- 1 egg white lighly beaten
- 1/4 cup fresh snow pea pods
- 1 tbls cornstarch (i don't use this much, but it is what the recipe calls for)
- Carbohydrate 28.9939422916667 g
- Cholesterol 71.68 mg
- Fat 12.0016929166667 g
- Fiber 7.38063959595064 g
- Protein 44.1134310416667 g
- Saturated Fat 3.38959558333333 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1571g)
- Sodium 3806.21841666667 mg
- Sugar 21.613302695716 g
- Trans Fat 1.17254641666667 g
- Calories 420 calories
Step-by-step
- Combine first 3 ingredients in a 2 quart saucepan; bring to a boil.
- Add chicken; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.
- Add bamboo shoots; simmer 5 minutes.
- Add vinegar and next 3 ingredients; bring to a boil.
- Drizzle egg white into soup, sitrring constantly. (Lacy strands will form.)
- Stir in green onions and snow peas.
- Combine cornstarch and water; stir into soup mixture.
- Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute, stirring gently.
- Serve immediately.
Rice vinegar drives this soup, providing the sharp, defining acidity that balances the savory chicken broth and warming pepper. Rooted in traditional Sichuan and Hubei culinary traditions, this style of soup was originally designed to warm the body during damp winter months using readily available regional ingredients like bamboo shoots and wood ear mushrooms. Achieving the correct balance of heat and sourness requires adjusting the vinegar and hot sauce gradually rather than dumping them in at once.
- Slice the chicken breast into strips no thicker than one-quarter inch to ensure they cook completely through during the ten-minute simmer without toughening.
- Test protein doneness visually by pressing the center of a strip; firm resistance and opaque white interiors indicate the meat is fully cooked at 165 degrees Fahrenheit without needing a thermometer.
- Incorporate the lightly beaten egg white by drizzling it slowly into a gentle vortex of simmering liquid while stirring constantly to produce delicate lacy strands instead of solid clumps.
- Dissolve the cornstarch thoroughly in cold water before stirring it into the boiling broth to prevent gumminess, then boil for exactly sixty seconds to activate the thickening properties fully.
- Chop fresh snow peas just before adding them at the very end so they retain their bright green color and crisp texture rather than turning drab and limp.
Properly managing the boil during the final thickening stage prevents scorching at the bottom of the saucepan. Ladle the finished broth immediately into warm bowls to preserve the fragile texture of the egg ribbons.
