Hot and Sour Soup

When I said I am going to make some soup for lunch, Jai asked me if I could make  him his favorite hot and sour soup. Luckily  I had all the necessary ingredients when I checked the refrigerator. This soup can be made quickly once you get all your ingredients ready. If you are a person who love hot and sour flavors then this is your soup to try.
Recipe Source: Tyler Florence
Ingredients
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears or , re-hydrated sliced shitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons canola oil
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup-1/2 cup rice vinegar or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
1 bunch green onions, cut fine
4 garlic cloves,made to fine paste
1/2 onion,minced
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
2 quarts Chicken Stock/Veggie stock
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Method:
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.

Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar ,green onions,garlic cloves paste, white peppercorns in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together - it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.