Do I absolutely need lily buds for hot and sour soup? Is there a substitute or can I leave it out altogether?

I%26#039;ve never made hot and sour soup before, but I love it! It looks so complicated. And I don%26#039;t think that they sell lily buds in Cyprus. If you have an easy and delicious recipe for hot and sour soup, please share it.

Do I absolutely need lily buds for hot and sour soup? Is there a substitute or can I leave it out altogether?
Check out the recipe on this web site. They were trying to make the soup without the exotic stuff.
Reply:Both LIHK%26#039;s recipe and Jan%26#039;s answer are excellent. Lily buds, oddly, are things we, as westerners, won%26#039;t miss in the soup.





However if you live in even a moderately-sized town, chances are you have an Asian market in your area. Crack open the phone book and check it out, even if you completely doubt it - you may be surprised. If you want to go traditional all the way finding the right market in which to shop is essential. People who run these places tend to be extra helpful too; don%26#039;t be afraid to give it a shot. Besides, you may find other interesting ingredients which will make you brave enough to try other Asian dishes you wouldn%26#039;t have before.





Good luck!
Reply:Oriental Hot n Sour Soup


INGREDIENTS


8 cups chicken broth


5 slices fresh ginger root


1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns


6 fresh green onions, chopped


1 red bell pepper, diced


1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms


1/2 cup bamboo shoots


1/2 cup rice vinegar


2 teaspoons chili powder


2 teaspoons sesame oil


DIRECTIONS


In a large cooking pot, add chicken broth, ginger root, and peppercorns, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.


Strain broth, discard ginger root and peppercorns. Return strained broth to pot. Add green onions, red pepper, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, rice wine vinegar, chili powder, and sesame oil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Serve in soup bowls over cooked white or brown rice.
Reply:Here%26#039;s a recipe I%26#039;ve found w/o lily buds:





6 cups chicken stock


1/4 lb lean pork, julienned


2 tablespoons garlic and red chile paste


2 tablespoons soy sauce


3/4 teaspoon white pepper, ground


4 eggs, beaten


5 tablespoons cornstarch


1/2 cup bamboo shoots, julienned


1/2 cup water chestnuts, sliced


1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced and stems removed


1 cup straw mushrooms


1 (12 ounce) package cake tofu, 1/4-inch dice


1/4 cup white vinegar


1 teaspoon sesame oil


1/4 cup dried black fungus, soaked for 1 hour


scallions, finely chopped, garnish





Bring stock to a simmer.


Add soy sauce, pork, mushrooms and chile paste. Simmer for 10 min.


Add pepper, vinegar, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, fungus and tofu.


Simmer 5 min.


Mix cornstarch with 5 tablespoons water and add.


Bring back to simmer and pour the eggs in a very thin stream over the surface. Let stand for 10 sec. before stirring in the sesame oil.


Serve with a garnish of chopped scallions.


NOTE: The pepper, chile paste and vinegar can be varied for taste.





Hope this will work for you....
Reply:I love hot and sour soup as well; it is one my all time favorite foods. I have made it and come pretty close to the real thing, but it is a complicated recipe. Lily buds (in my opinion) are not a necessity, but pretty much all of the otheringredients are and the list is LONG. The key thing is an excellent chicken stock for the base. Please don%26#039;t use boullion cubes or canned chicken stock, or the flavor will be drastically altered. The recipe I%26#039;ve used is over a page long, so I%26#039;m not going to type it in for this answer, but please go to www.epicurious.com and type in hot and sour soup where it asks you for a recipe search. This is a wonderful recipe website and you don%26#039;t have to be a signed-in member to just do a recipe search. You%26#039;ll probably get dozens of recipes, and you can read them and pick the one you like the best. The recipes are taken mostly from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines (back issues) and are just wonderful. Oh, and there is no %26quot;easy%26quot; recipe for hot and sour soup - just so you know.



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