Thick spicy and sour soup
1.5 litres/21/2 pints chicken stock
2.5 cm/1 inch piece black pudding, cut into strips
25 g/1 oz cooked, skinned duck breast, shredded
1 block of tofu or bean curd, shredded
6 or 7 oyster mushrooms, or straw mushrooms, cut into strips
25 g/1 oz shredded bamboo shoots
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1 dessertspoon cornflour mixed with a little cold water to the consistency of single cream
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon chilli oil, to finish
1 Heat the stock in a pan and add all the ingredients except the cornflour mixture, beaten egg and chilli oil.
2 Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3 Pour in the cornflour mixture and stir until the soup has thickened.
4 Whisk in the beaten egg until it is distributed around the soup and set, then pour the soup into individual bowls, sprinkle with a little chilli oil and serve.
Pork and tomato soup
100 g/31/2 oz very thinly sliced lean pork, cut into strips
2 teaspoons dry sherry, sake or rice wine
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1.5 litres/2 1/2 pints chicken stock
1 egg, beaten
vegetable oil, for stir-frying
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly chopped coriander leaves, to garnish
1 Put the pork in a bowl with the sherry, sake or rice wine and the soy sauce and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
2 Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and the pork mixture and stir-fry for a couple of minutes, to brown lightly.
3 Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil, then season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
4 Add the beaten egg and stir until the egg is just setting, then serve immediately, garnished with the coriander.
Chicken and ginseng soup
1 litre/ 13/4 pints chicken stock
3.5 cm /1 1/2 inches ginseng root, sliced
1 handful of sultanas
1 cm/1/2 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely sliced
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced into strips
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
vegetable oil, for frying
sea salt, to taste
1 Bring the stock to the boil in a pan, add the ginseng, sultanas and ginger, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
2 Add the chicken and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
3 While the soup is simmering, heat a pan or wok, add a little oil and stir-fry the shallots until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
4 Season the soup with salt, pour into individual bowls and garnish with the crispy shallots.
Fragrant soup with spinach and meatballs
for the meatballs
200 g/7 oz lean pork
1 teaspoon preserved Sichuan mustard (or you could use Dijon)
1 egg white
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 red or green chilli, deseeded
a small handful of coriander leaves
1 teaspoon cornflour
for the soup
1.5 litres/21/2 pints chicken stock
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
a splash of rice wine, sake or dry sherry
20 g/3/4 oz baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
6 straw mushrooms, or chestnut or oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 Place all the ingredients for the meatballs in a food processor and whiz until they are finely minced. Tip the mixture into a bowl and put in the fridge for about 20 minutes to cool and firm up a little.
2 When firmer to handle, roll the meat in your hands into little balls 1-1.5 cm/1/2-3/4 inch in diameter and put to one side.
3 To make the soup, pour the stock into a pan, add the soy sauce and rice wine, sake or sherry and bring to the boil.
4 Reduce the heat to a simmer, carefully drop in the meatballs and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the meatballs are cooked and floating on top of the broth.
5 Take off the heat and add the spinach leaves and mushrooms. Leave until they have just started to wilt, then serve.
Bamboo shoot and meatball soup
for the meatballs
350 g/12 oz slightly fatty pork, minced
3 spring onions, trimmed and very finely chopped
2.5 cm /1 inch piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon cornflour
freshly ground black pepper
for the soup
1 onion, peeled and chopped fairly finely
1 stringed celery stick, chopped fairly finely
1.5 litres/21/2 pints chicken stock
130 g can bamboo shoots, rinsed, drained and finely sliced
6 or 8 straw mushrooms, or chestnut or oyster mushrooms, sliced into strips
vegetable oil, for frying
sea salt
green leaves of spring onion, finely chopped, to garnish
1 Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl