Chinese Hot and Sour Soup

Preparing the Soup Base In a large pot, combine chicken broth (6 cups), soy sauce (¼ cup), rice vinegar (¼ cup), cornstarch (2 tablespoons), sugar (1 tablespoon), and white pepper (1 teaspoon). Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Adding Ingredients Add bamboo shoots (¼ cup), wood ear mushrooms, tofu, and optional ingredients like pork (¼ cup), shiitake mushrooms (¼ cup), black fungus (¼ cup), baby corn (¼ cup), and carrots (¼ cup). Cook for another 10 minutes.

Thickening the Soup Slowly pour in the beaten eggs (2), stirring gently to form ribbons. Add green onions (2) and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

Seasoning and Serving Adjust the seasoning with additional soy sauce (¼ cup), vinegar, or white pepper (1 teaspoon) if needed. Serve hot, garnished with white vinegar (¼ cup), soy sauce (¼ cup), chili oil (¼ cup), sesame oil (¼ cup), cilantro (¼ cup), green onions (2), and red chilies (2).