Hot and Sour Broth with Mushrooms

Aromatic broth, mushrooms, and green onions enhance
tofu, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots.

I love hot and sour soup.  Whenever we eat Chinese food, I end up finishing everyone's soup off for them.  After taking a look at a variety of recipes over the years, I never quite found one that was easy or quick enough to prepare.  Until recently.  Fellow blogger Stephanie O'Dea has a slow cooker website that features her version of Hot and Sour Soup.  The men all liked it as do I.  Even with a couple of variations, this is a super simple recipe.

serves:  6                     prep time:  10 minute
cook time:  4-5 hours on high, 8-9 hours on low

I bought this crockpot at Costco decades ago.  Nowadays,
they are more sophisticated.  But this one still works great.

4 - 5 cups water
8 ounces firm tofu, cubed
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
7-8 fresh shitakes, stems removed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons low sodium Tamari (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Better than Boullion broth base
1 can sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 can sliced water chestnuts. drained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Green onion, sliced, for garnish

Place all ingredients in a crockpot except the green onions.  Put the lid on and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  If you like soup that is more sour, add more rice wine vinegar.  If you like hot, then add more hot peppers.  This soup can accomodate other ingredients if you wish to experiment - egg, seaweed, Scriacha sauce or Sambal Oleek, and even shredded chicken.  Serve with sliced scallions on top.

Each cup of soup provides approximately 85 calories, 20% of your daily requirement for riboflavin, 18% of iron needs, about 40% for copper, and about 295 g sodium.

- Kim Fielding