{ Dinner Time: A personal serving of Hot and Spicy Soup } 简易酸辣汤

My husband travels once or twice a month for work. When he is away, I usually cook simple one-pot dinner for me and the kids.

During a day on his last trip, I decided to cook some dishes to go with rice, mainly because I found big short-neck clams selling at a mini mart, and they are the kids' favourite.

I had this terrible craving for Hot and Sour soup for days due to the hot weather. Hence, I cooked a small portion of it for myself. (Yes, I bothered to do that! :P)

There isn't soup for the kids, so I cooked the clams in broth, which I will be sharing the recipe. There is lots of sauce for the Steamed Cod too. So no problems for the kids to go with their rice. Then I realised, no greens! Opps!

This is a very simple cheat Hot and Spicy recipe that I'm sharing, just to curb my cravings. ;)

Ingredients:

• 500ml Chicken Broth
• 1 tablespoon Black Vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Salt to taste
• Cornflour Mixture (thickener)
• Chilli Oil

A small amount each of the followings:

• Chicken Breast meat, cooked and shredded
• Black Wood Ear aka Black Fungus, shredded
• Bamboo Shoots, shredded
• Carrot, shredded
• Shitake Mushroom, sliced
• Tofu, cut into strips

How to do it:

1. Bring broth to a boil.
2. Add in the ingredients except for the tofu.Put all the shredded ingredients in the broth.
3. Bring to a simmer.
4. Add the vinegar, light soy sauce and pepper.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Add in the tofu and continue to simmer for a minute.
7. Gradually add in the cornflour mixture to achieve your desire thickness.
8. Add some chilli oil and serve.

Note:

• I usually use ground black pepper but I ran out of it so I used white pepper powder instead.
• Adjust the amount of black vinegar according to your liking.
• The ingredients used and the amount used for the soup are to your preference but Black Fungus, Bamboo Shoots and Mushrooms are a must for me. They add the crunch for the soup.