By Request

By Catherine Kekoa Enomoto

Wednesday, February 5, 1997

ByKen Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Aiea Chop Suey chef Christopher Cheng
dishes up hot and sour soup.

Soup hot item in Aiea

SANDRA Field of Honolulu said everyone raves about the hot and sour soup at Aiea Chop Suey.

"It's different from everybody else's," she said. "It's so delicious."

Owner Wilson Lum confirmed that Aiea Chop Suey adjusted the recipe for island palates.

"It's strictly a Chinese-style dish, but ours is made to suit the local tastes," he said.

Try this rich soup to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Ox.

Hot and Sour Soup

(From chef Christopher Cheng and
owner Wilson Lum, Aiea Chop Suey)

3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) rich chicken broth
1/2 can water (optional, to reduce sodium level)
3 ounces bamboo shoots, cut in strips (about 2/3 cup)
2 ounces ham, cut in strips (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
2 ounces sweet-sour mustard cabbage, cut in strips (about 1/3 cup; see note)
2 ounces fresh tomato (seeds removed), cut in strips (about 1/3 cup)
8 small Chinese black mushrooms
2 teaspoons corn or other vegetable oil
2 tablespoons hot bean sauce, such as Yeo's brand, available in supermarkets (can substitute 2 teaspoons Tabasco or to taste)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
6 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 6 tablespoons cold water
2 eggs, beaten
Chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Sugar-vinegar-water mixture:

1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar (Aloha Vinegar preferred)
4 ounces clean raw sugar (1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon; can substitute granulated white sugar)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Soften Chinese black mushrooms in water at least 1 hour, then cut in strips.

To make sugar-vinegar-water mixture: Boil water; add remaining ingredients and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

To make soup: Bring chicken broth (and water, if added) to a boil. Add bamboo shoots, ham, sweet-sour mustard cabbage, tomato, Chinese black mushrooms and corn oil to pot, stirring mixture lightly. Return to a boil.

Stir in sugar-vinegar-water mixture, hot bean sauce and sesame oil. Taste soup and adjust seasonings.

While simmering, slowly stir in enough cornstarch-water mixture to get the consistency of creamed soup. Slowly drizzle eggs into the soup in a thin stream. When egg curds set, garnish and serve soup.

Note: Sweet-sour mustard cabbage is available in Chinatown groceries, and at Aiea Chop Suey by the pound. Or substitute any pickled vegetable.

Makes 8 servings of 9 to 10 ounces each.

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Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 170 calories, 5 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 60 milligrams cholesterol, 860 milligrams sodium.*

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By Request by Catherine Kekoa Enomoto is a regular feature of the
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