Hot and Sour Soup

Introduction:
Bamboo shoots are the very young stems of several tropical Asian bamboos (species of Phyllostachys and others), which are woody members of the grass family. As the new shoots begin to break the soil surface, additional soil is heaped on to minimize their exposure to light and thereby their production of bitter cyanide-generating compounds (p. 258). Cooks and food manufacturers then eliminate all cyanide compounds from the fresh shoots by boiling them in water until they’re no longer bitter. Along with Chinese water chestnuts and lotus root, bamboo shoots are valued for the ability to retain their firm, crisp, meaty texture during and after cooking, and even after the extreme heat treatment of canning (p. 283). Their flavor has an unusual medicinal or barnyard note thanks to cresol, as well as more common bready and brothy aromas from simple sulfur compounds (methional, dimethyl sulfide).

Ingredients:

• 4 dried Chinese fungi
• 2 tablespoons canola oil 
• 1 tablespoon red chile paste
• 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
• 1/4 cup barbecued pork shredded
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Pinch sugar
• 2 quarts chicken stock 
• 1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced
• 3 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 1 large egg lightly beaten 
• Chopped green onions (for garnish) 

Steps: 

• Put the fungi in a small bowl and cover with boiling water
• Let stand for 30 minutes
• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium flame
• Add the ginger, chili paste, fungi, bamboo shoots, and pork 
• Cook and stir for 1 minute 
• Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl 
• Pour it into the pot and toss everything together
• Pour in the chicken stock and bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes
• Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes
• Dissolve the cornstarch in water and stir until smooth 
• Mix into soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens 
• Stir the soup in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. 
• Slowly pour the beaten egg into the current (it should cook almost immediately) 
• Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions before serving

Results: 

The end result was REALLY tasty, but it took me two tries to get it right.  At first I put too little corn starch in, so I figured I could just add more to the hot water--wrong! It ended up really clumpy, so I had to pour it all out and start over.  

Also, the recipe says this is for beginners, but it was pretty hard, and I feel like it's a recipe that gets easier with practice. 

Source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/hot-and-sour-soup-recipe.html