Vegetable Hot ‘n’ Sweet Sour Soup
Serves: 3–4 people
Ingredients:
- Carrots – 4, roughly chopped (for stock)
- French beans – 4–5, roughly chopped (for stock)
- Tomatoes – 2 large, cut into big pieces (for stock)
For Stock:
- Water – 2 glasses
- Carrot – 1, finely chopped
- French beans – 2 sticks, finely chopped
- Mushrooms – ½ cup, finely chopped
- Cabbage – ½ cup, finely chopped
- Cornflour – 1 tbsp
- Soy sauce – 1½ tbsp
- Chilli sauce – ½ tbsp
- Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp
- Vinegar – 2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Black pepper – to taste
- Ajinomoto (MSG) – 1½ tsp (optional)
Method:
- In a pan, add 2 glasses of water along with carrots, French beans, and tomatoes.
- Boil for 8–10 minutes to extract the vegetable stock.
- Strain the stock and discard the boiled vegetables (do not mash them).
Soup Preparation:
- Add carrot, French beans, and mushrooms into the prepared stock.
- Boil for 2–3 minutes.
- Mix cornflour with ½ cup water to make a smooth slurry.
- Slowly add the cornflour slurry into the soup while stirring continuously.
- Cook for 1 minute until the soup slightly thickens.
- Add soy sauce, chilli sauce, tomato sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and Ajinomoto. Mix well.
- Add half of the chopped cabbage and bring the soup to one gentle boil.
Serving Suggestion:
- Serve hot.
- Garnish with the remaining fresh cabbage before serving.
Tips:
- Do not overboil vegetables in stock; it should remain light and clear.
- Always add cornflour slurry slowly to avoid lumps.
- Adjust sauces according to sweet, sour, and spicy balance.
- Serve immediately for best taste and texture.