Chicken Noodle Soup

I have had an exciting culinary weekend during which I ate Wildebeest and Ostrich burgers, biltong and dim sum, so when I got back I thought I would try something vaguely oriental - inspired as I was by the dim sum (and my almost successful attempts at using chopsticks - the steamed pork buns almost all made it from steamer to mouth without a stop on the floor in-between), and also by the desire to eat something that wasn't too heavy, after all the rich food I had consumed over the last few days

So here is my attempt at chicken noodle soup

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

I first had Hot and Sour soup in a restaurant and was a bit wary, due to my dislike of Sweet and Sour Sauce served in Chinese Take-aways (you know, that radioactive red/orange stuff that they all serve.  Where does it come from anyway? )  But anyway, I was persuaded to try the Hot and Sour soup and needless to say, found it rather lovely.

This recipe seems to be an American version of a Szechan style soup, on account of the egg and cornflour in it, which makes it a lot thicker.  There are a number of variations, for instance Tofu makes a good chicken substitute, or you could go the other way entirely and add pig's blood to flavour it! Or at least use pork as the meat