A soup that can warm you up from the inside out on these cold nights is the Chinese Hot and Sour Soup.  You don’t need to go out for it because it’s easy to make at home.  If you have rice wine vinegar and soy sauce at home, then you have a good start toward the soup.  I made it with what I had in the house — chicken bullion instead of broth, turnips instead of mushrooms, and celery added for a bit of crunch.  Instead of scallions, I added dried minced onions and chives and I also added some mixed, chopped greens.   The original recipe called for shitake mushrooms, but I’ve substituted regular mushrooms for a lower carb dish.  This is a delicious soup with or without other Chinese food on the menu.

Hot and Sour Soup

4 cups Chicken Broth
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed Red Pepper
1 cup fresh Mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
1 deli Smoked Pork Chop, diced
1 stalk Celery, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
3 Scallions, thinly sliced
1 cup mixed greens, torn or chopped

Prep all vegetables before starting as this will cook quickly.

In a large pot, combine broth, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, ginger and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium hea, then add celery, pork and mushrooms.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together 3 tablespoons vinegar and cornstarch. Add to pot; simmer, stirring, until soup is thickened, about 1 minute.

Drizzle egg into the soup and stir to form ribbons. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 1 minute. Taste; add additional vinegar, if desired.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition Info: per serving
Calories: 57 Fat: 1.9 g Net Carbs: 4.3 g Protein: 5.6 g