Hot and sour soup recipe, Limoncello recipe

Good morning,

Some of you will be very happy with today’s newsletter. I’m finally getting around to recipes (one in particular) that I’ve promised for close to a year. With the weather the way it’s been, it’s not even to be considered an unseasonable recipe.

I also offer you a famous Mediterranean drink that’s very easy to make at home. If you like it, I really do recommend you make your own rather than relying on the substandard stuff available at the LCBO.

Finally I’d like to thank Ted, one of our readers, for writing in with his own experience of Grey’s Social Eatery after my story ran in last Tuesday’s edition. I truly appreciate the feedback we’ve received. Integrity with our reviews matters and we will never shy away from being honest with our readers.

So let’s get cooking and peeling…

Ralf Joneikies, food and drink editor. [email protected]

RECIPE

Hot & Sour and oh so good

Well the wait is over. After banging on about how my hot and sour soup is the best in Ottawa, I’m finally putting that to the test and you can be the judge.

The nice thing about this soup is that it can be made in a variety of ways but the base of it is always vegan. Here the version is vegetarian (it has egg) but it is heavy on the mushrooms.

For those that love hot and sour soup, it’s more than just a comforting flavour bomb, it’s mouthfuls of alternating textures. Bamboo shoots, silken tofu, mushrooms, egg, carrots, scallions, all give a mouthfeel and colour. 

If I’m adding protein, I typically enjoy making this with shrimp and bay scallops, but slivers of pork or chicken are also common. Just remember that if using seafood, add this at the end just as the simmer is coming to a finish. No need to have tough shrimp and scallops.

I’ve compiled this recipe from a number of sources over the years and have added a few of my own touches. As with anything, try to use better ingredients and that may mean splurging a little more on soy sauce and aged Chinese black vinegar. A quality vinegar and soy will be noticed.

Note that I also use a specialty “peeler”  that cuts carrots into long strips and which can be purchased at your favourite Asian shops for around five dollars. The brand I use is “Kiwi” from Taiwan.

It may not seem like it but this is a quick soup and so mise en place is everything. Have all your ingredients cut and prepared in advance.

Ingredients

Makes 3 litres of soup

• 1 large thick carrot, cut into long threads 

• 3 Tbsp of grated ginger

• 300 g package of silken tofu. Keep tofu in the package and drain. Cut tofu into bite-sized pieces in the package.

• ½ jar (approx. 150 g) of preserved young bamboo shoots

• Small handful of dried Autumn (aka cloud ear) fungus

• Handful of dried shiitake mushrooms

• 3 beaten eggs (add at end)

• 150 g enoki mushrooms (available at T&T) with ends removed

• 150 g king oyster mushrooms (available at T&T) cut into bite sized pieces

• 3 litres of water

Seasonings

• 4 Tbsp soy sauce

• 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce

• 2 Tbsp Better than Bouillon organic vegetable broth paste (Costco for the best price)

• 2 Tsp sugar

• 3 Tsp salt 

• 3 Tbsp corn starch

• 3 Tbsp water

• 6 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar

• 3 Tsp white pepper

• 3 Tsp sesame oil

• Diced scallions to garnish

Directions

Using hot water, rehydrate dried shiitake and autumn fungus in a bowl for 5 minutes. After softening, cut into slices.

Add  your favourite cooking oil to a large pot and sautée carrots and ginger for two minutes

Add three litres of water to pot

Add bamboo shoots, fungus, all mushrooms and silken tofu and simmer for 3 minutes

Now add salt, sugar, vegetable broth paste and both soy sauces

Mix corn starch and water for a thickening paste and add to broth. (If after a minute the soup is not thick enough for your palate, simply make more mixture and add)

Now add the black vinegar, white pepper and sesame oil at the end. Adding this too soon will denude the effects of both the white pepper and vinegar.

Before serving, add the beaten eggs and turn off the heat.

Add the scallions and serve.

Optional: If you need a little more heat and flavour feel free to add something like Rude Mama hot sauce to taste. It makes for a great marriage of flavours.

RECIPE

Limoncello for lemon heads

Limoncello is a great introduction to the warm weather and now you can make your own delicious version at home without too much fuss.

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of Spirytus (76% alc)

• 5 lemons

• 1 cup sugar + 1 cup distilled water for a simple syrup

• 750 ml distilled water to blend with the spirit

Instructions

Using the cheapest iodized salt, wet lemons and rub them vigorously with the salt to remove dirt, pesticides and any waxy coatings and rinse.

Using a sharp peeler take off ONLY the yellow part of the lemon peel. Avoid any white parts as that’s where all the bitterness lies. To be clear, you do not use the juice of the lemon.

Add the peelings to a one litre jar and fill with Spirytus. In my case, I use an Alkemista infusion vesse,l which was given to me by a friend and has seen much use over the years. I highly recommend one if this is what you’re into.

Let sit for two weeks, turning your vessel to mix every few days. Filter out the peels.

Simmer one cup of water and add one cup of sugar for a simple syrup and let cool.  I like my limoncello less sweet and therefore use only 3/4 cup of sugar to the same amount of water.

Add the simple syrup and 750 ml of distilled water to the lemon spirit and watch your gorgeous new creation turn cloudy, as essential lemon oils are reacting to the presence of water. If you like a little less alcohol in your final product, add 1 litre of distilled water rather than 750 mi. 

For a variety of fine limoncello cocktails, click here. Enjoy your summer!

QUICK BITES

• After 25 years, the popular Kozy Nest restaurant in Orléans has closed its doors. [CTV]

• Find out who took first place at Ottawa’s first shawarma competition. [CTV]

• The NCC has opened a new pavilion at Westboro beach. As always it will be a restaurant group, rather than an independent business, that will be opening an eatery. [CTV]

• A 5,000 year old bread was recently unearthed in Turkey. The recipe has been recreated and now the public can’t get enough. [Gizmodo]

FROM THE ARCHIVE

Ottawa's best sit-down restaurants of 2024

From Japanese, to French bistros, the city is home to many places worthy of your time

Read the story

LATEST STORIES