Hot and Sour Soup

Hot and Sour Soup
from America's Test Kitchen

from the Episode: Staying in For Chinese Takeout

To make slicing the pork chop easier, freeze it for 15 minutes. We prefer the distinctive flavor of Chinese black vinegar; look for it in Asian supermarkets. If you can't find it, a combination of red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar approximates its flavor. This soup is very spicy. For a less spicy soup, omit the chili oil altogether or add only 1 teaspoon. Serves 6 to 8 as an appetizer

7 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained
4 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons cornstarch, plus an additional 1 1/2 teaspoons
1 boneless, center-cut, pork loin chop (1/2 inch thick, about 6 ounces), trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch by 1/8-inch matchsticks
3 tablespoons cold water, plus 1 additional teaspoon
1 large egg
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Unlike me, you should actually pay attention to the "low-sodium" bit here. I didn't have any so I just used 6 chicken bouillon cubes and it turned out a little too salty. Not inedible, just a bit on the too salty side. Use low-sodium broth, or at least not bouillon cubes, or at a minimum, use fewer bouillon cubes.)
1 cup bamboo shoots (from one 5-ounce can), sliced lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 1 cup)
5 tablespoons black Chinese vinegar or 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (see note above) (I like my soup more sour than this recipe turned out so I doubled the vinegar. In case it's relevant, I'll tell you I was using the red wine and balsamic since I haven't been to an asian market recently.)
2 teaspoons chili oil (see note above)
1 teaspoon ground white pepper (WHITE pepper really is important I think - black pepper just doesn't taste as asian)
3 medium scallions, sliced thin

See Illustrations Below: Getting the Wisped Egg Just Right

1. Place tofu in pie plate and set heavy plate on top. Weight with 2 heavy cans; let stand at least 15 minutes (tofu should release about 1/2 cup liquid). Whisk 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in medium bowl; toss pork with marinade and set aside for at least 10 minutes (but no more than 30 minutes).
2. Combine 3 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in small bowl and mix thoroughly; set aside, leaving spoon in bowl. Mix remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch with remaining 1 teaspoon water in small bowl; add egg and beat with fork until combined. Set aside.
3. Bring broth to boil in large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; add bamboo shoots and mushrooms and simmer until mushrooms are just tender, about 5 minutes. While broth simmers, dice tofu into 1/2-inch cubes. Add tofu and pork, including marinade, to soup, stirring to separate any pieces of pork that stick together. Continue to simmer until pork is no longer pink, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine. Add to soup and increase heat to medium-high; cook, stirring occasionally, until soup thickens and turns translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, chili oil, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons soy sauce; turn off heat.
5. Without stirring soup, use soupspoon to slowly drizzle very thin streams of egg mixture into pot in circular motion. Let soup sit 1 minute, then return saucepan to medium-high heat. Bring soup to gentle boil, then immediately remove from heat. Gently stir soup once to evenly distribute egg; ladle into bowls and top with scallions.

Per Serving:Cal 120; Fat 5 g; Sat fat 1 g; Chol 12 mg; Carb 12 g; Protein 8 g; Fiber 1 g; Sodium 1110 mg

Step-by-Step: Getting the Wisped Egg Just Right

1. Turn off heat so surface of soup is calm, then use spoon to drizzle egg onto surface in thin streams.
2. Let sit for 1 minute. Turn heat back on and stir gently to finish cooking egg and break into ribbons.

Glazed Pork Chops with Asian Flavors

I'd post about my chicken stir fry that I'm making but Ralphie already did. Embarrassing me thoroughly in the process, I might add. So instead I give you this from last night. I had some leftover pork chops in the freezer even though we don't usually eat them or particularly like them (long story). I went looking for a recipe to use them in and so of course I turned to America's Test Kitchen. I've never made a recipe of theirs I didn't like, so of course this gets at least 3 STARS.

And I quote:

If your chops are on the thinner side, check their internal temperature after the initial sear. If they are already at the 140-degree mark, remove them from the skillet and allow them to rest, tented with foil, for 5 minutes, then add the platter juices and glaze ingredients to the skillet and proceed with step 3. If your chops are closer to 1 inch thick, you may need to increase the simmering time in step 2.

Serves 4

1	teaspoon sesame seeds
Glaze
1/2	cup rice vinegar , plus an additional 2 teaspoons
1/3	cup light brown sugar
3	tablespoons orange juice (I didn't have any around so I used lemon juice)
2	tablespoons Dijon mustard (I didn't have any around and I dislike it so I used about half as much chili paste instead. I used Vietnamese rooster sauce, so the end result was pretty spicy. Vary this as you see fit.)
3	tablespoons mirin (I didn't have any of this so I used about a tablespoon extra rice vinegar and a 1/2 tablespoon extra soy sauce and forged ahead anyway. In retrospect I might skip the extra liquid altogether as the glaze took FOREVER to thicken and I suspect it was the extra liquid I added in place of the mirin.)
1	tablespoons soy sauce
1	teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (I was out of this too so I used 1/4 tsp dry ground ginger instead)
Chops
4	boneless, center-cut pork loin chops , 5 to 7 ounces each, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
	Table salt and ground black pepper
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
1	teaspoon toasted sesame oil

See Illustrations Below: Message in a Bubble

1. Toast sesame seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, set aside in small bowl. (I used pre-toasted sesame seeds I already had on hand for other recipes.) Combine all glaze ingredients except 2 teaspoons rice vinegar in medium bowl; mix thoroughly and set aside. Following illustrations below, trim chops and slash through fat and silver skin with sharp knife, making 2 cuts about 2 inches apart in each chop (do not cut into meat of chops). Pat chops dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Add pork to skillet and cook until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn chops and cook 1 minute longer; transfer chops to plate and pour off any oil in skillet. (Check internal temperature of thinner chops; see note above.) Return chops to skillet, browned side up, and add glaze mixture; cook over medium heat until center of chops registers 140 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat; transfer chops to clean platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes.

3. When chops have rested, add any accumulated juices to skillet and set over medium heat. Simmer, whisking constantly, until glaze is thick and color of dark caramel (heatproof spatula should leave wide trail when dragged through glaze), 2 to 6 minutes. Add remaining rice vinegar and return chops to skillet; turn to coat both sides with glaze. Transfer chops back to platter, browned side up, and spread remaining glaze over chops. Garnish chops with reserved sesame seeds and sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Step-by-Step: Message in a Bubble

NOT YET: Pan surface has just a few small bubbles, and a spatula makes no trails.	JUST RIGHT: Increased bubbles, caramel color, and a spatula just starts to make trails.
TOO LONG: Many large bubbles, ultra-dark glaze, and plenty of exposed pan surface.

Step-by-Step: Prepping Boneless Pork Chops

1. Trim excess fat off each chop with a sharp knife.	2. Cut two slits about 2 inches apart through fat and connective tissue.

Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork Salad

This is for Kristi, who is living way too far away from the nearest Cafe Rio. It's pretty darn close to the original. You have to start cooking the meat the night before, but if you make enough, you can freeze it and pull it out to reheat and serve any time you like. We serve it with hot rice, too, so factor in time to have that prepared, too. And enjoy.

Source: Park 5th Ward Relief Society

The dressing:

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch packet
1 C. buttermilk
1 C. mayonaise
2 tomatillos
1 clove minced garlic
1/3 bunch cilantro
1/2 tsp. lime juice
1 small jalepeno pepper

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Stick in the fridge to chill.

The meat:
Pork (I used a bone-in pork shoulder because it's economical, but also a little disgusting to me because it has some skin and some bones. Use whatever pork you want.)
Coke (a couple cans to a liter bottle, depending how much you want to use)
1 bottle of honey barbeque sauce

Put the pork in a crockpot. Pour the whole bottle of barbeque sauce over the pork, and then pour in the Coke until the meat is covered. I used a couple of cans, but it depends on how much meat you're cooking. Let it cook overnight or until the meat falls apart. Then pull out the meat and shred it.

To serve:
You can do this however you want. We put a tortilla in a biggish bowl. Put in the shredded meat, some hot rice, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, black beans, crunchy tortilla strips. Then pour on the dressing. MMMmmm! You can also put another sprig of cilantro on top for garnish if you want to.