Hot and Sour Soup

We all have our favorite place to devour a bowl of soup on a cold night.  We also all have our favorite asian restaurant where we always order the hot and sour soup #IfYouDontYouShould. It has taken me quite some time to perfect this recipe and I finally got it right.

(I didn't really measure the ingredients but these are the closest estimates #sorry)

Ingredients:
8 cups Chicken Stock
6 oz. Steak/beef chopped finely... #TrustMe
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 Eggs, beaten
1 oz. dried Shiitake Mushrooms
1 container Tofu, cut into small squares
1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded, chopped finely
1 inch fresh Ginger, grated
2 tbsp finely chopped Garlic
1 cup Noodles (your favorite type)
1 bundle Scallion, chopped
1 can Bamboo shoots
1 can Water Chestnuts
2 handful fresh Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
5 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds (white and black combo)
3 tbsp Vegetarian Mushroom Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Black Pepper
SRIRACHA to taste
Hot Chili Oil to taste

1> Add the chicken stock to a large pot and add dried shiitakes. Boil until mushrooms are tender. Remove mushrooms and slice then add back into pot. Add the fresh mushrooms. Add bamboo. Add chestnuts. Add tofu. Add most of the scallion (save the greenest parts for the garnish). Reduce to simmer.
2> In a separate small sauce-pan, no heat, add veggie oil, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno. Turn the heat onto medium until the ingredients begin to sizzle. As soon as fragrant, add beef. Cook until the beef is just cooked through and remove from heat. Let cool.
3> Add the flavored oil and meat into soup pot. Add soy sauce, and oyster sauce. TASTE! If you want it saltier, add more soy sauce. Add sesame seeds and black pepper.
4> Bring the soup up to a rapid boil and add the noodles. Stir. Bring back to a rapid boil.  Slowly pour the eggs into the boiling soup while rapidly stirring.
5> Right before serving add sesame oil.
6> Garnish with scallions, SRIRACHA, and chili oil.
7> Enjoy.

This recipe can be done without the meat but if you are not a vegetarian, I highly recommend that you go through the effort of adding the beef because it really adds a lot of flavor.

The last picture was a bowl of leftovers so all the pasta was at the bottom. Stir well before you serve!