This Asian hot and sour soup has been taken to the next level with the cayenne pepper. This is a wonderful dish with a great balance of vegetables and meat.
I now make this all the time, having incorporated a few tweaks. I always brown the pork in a bit of sesame oil first - this gives great bits to scrape up from the bottom which contribute depth to the flavor of the broth. Just as the pork browns I add 1/2 sweet onion, thinly diced, along with the garlic and the ginger. Then the chicken broth and the remaining ingredients in their order, excluding the cayenne which I haven't used since the very first time when I made this as written. I also use an entire 8 oz. container of diced mushrooms, and rice vinegar in place of white vinegar. - 11 Mar 2008 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I am on the South Beach Diet so I used lean ground turkey instead of pork and eliminated the corn and added snap peas and bamboo shoots. This was sooo delicious and easy to make! Kudos! - 03 Apr 2008 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I just made this recipe and it tastes like I just picked it up at my favorite Chinese restaurant! I did not add the cayenne pepper because it was spicey enough with the Sezchuan sauce. I am doing Weight Watchers so I used a "soy meat product" called Yves meatless ground stuffer for lettuce wraps in order to cut calories. It figures out to 2 Points per serving this way! I think I might count it as a Core meal too. Very delicious!! I am thinking you could easily add tofu to this as well. Thanks for a keeper!! - 23 Aug 2007 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)