Ingredients:
1 small carrot, about 50 gms or ¼ cup grated carrots
5 to 6 button mushrooms or ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup shredded cabbage
¼ cup finely chopped french beans
1 small onion, finely chopped, about ¼ cup finely chopped onions
1 tsp finely chopped garlic/lahsun
1 tsp finely chopped ginger/adrak
2 tsp finely chopped celery (optional)
4 to 5 tsp corn starch dissolved in 2 tbsp water (for a slight thicker consistency in the soup, dissolve 6 to 7 tsp corn starch in 3 tbsp water)
¾ tsp black pepper or white pepper or ¾ tsp red chili paste or green chili sauce
3 tsp soy sauce or add as required
2 tsp rice vinegar or add as required
2.5 cups water or veg stock
2 to 3 tsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
1 tbsp oil
salt as required
Preparation:
1. first rinse and shred the cabbage and french beans. wipe the mushrooms with a wet cloth and then slice them. rinse, peel and grate the carrots. chop the onions, ginger and garlic. here i have added red cabbage, but you can easily add green cabbage.
2. heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan or wok/kadai. add finely chopped onion, ginger and garlic.
3. stir and saute on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
4. then add the finely chopped french beans. stir.
5. add the sliced mushrooms.
6. on a medium to high flame, stir fry till the mushrooms get lightly browned from the edges.
7. meanwhile make a paste of corn starch and water. keep aside.
8. once the mushrooms are lightly browned (takes about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium to high flame) add carrots, cabbage and celery.
9. stir fry on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
10. add water or veg stock.
11. stir well.
12. add soy sauce and stir.
13. then season with salt. keep a check on the amount of salt as soy sauce already has a lot of salt. i added just about one-fourth teaspoon first and adjusted towards the end.
14. bring the soup to a simmer on medium flame.
15. stir the corn starch paste and add it to the soup.
16. stir again very well.
17. allow the soup to thicken on a low to medium flame, which takes a couple of minutes.
18. when the soup has thickened, add black pepper or white pepper.
19. add rice vinegar or any good quality chinese vinegar.
20. give afinal stir. switch off the flame. check the taste and add more soy sauce, vinegar or salt or black pepper if required.
21. serve the vegetable hot and sour soup steaming hot garnished with coriander leaves. you can also just mix the coriander leaves in the soup, after adding vinegar and then serve.
