Hot and Sour Soup with Pork and Kale

Well as you can guess last weekend was fabulous and we had an amazing time at The Grand Lodge.  Below is a picture of the sake and food pairings we had and it was all super delicious.  I can't believe that Christmas is around the corner I still have quite a few gifts to pick up and I'm hoping that some of the stores still have what I want in stock.  Are you all feeling the holiday craze yet?  Well last weekend we went to Target to do a little gift shopping and holy hell was it crazy, there was a line just to check out that weaved all around the store, no thank you!  The part of the holidays I can't wait for of course is family time...well and the food.  This year we are spending actual Christmas with my fiance's family but then we are coming back to PDX on the 26th and having a Christmas with my family...well my parents at least.  It is hard having both of our families living in two different places but the switching off every other year does help alleviate all the traveling we would have to do.  Onto the food, last night I adapted this recipe and added a little healthy twist to it by adding kale.

Serves 4

The Ingredients
5 cups chicken broth
4 ounces crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of curly kale, chopped
1 lb. ground pork
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons rice vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chili sauce, such as sambal oelek or sriracha
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch mixed into 2 tablespoons cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 green onions, sliced


The Process
1.  In large pot cook ground pork over medium heat until almost all the pink is gone.

2.  Then add the broth, mushrooms, garlic, kale, ginger, vinegars, chili sauce, soy sauce and sugar and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3.  Mix in the cornstarch and water mixture and simmer until the soup thickens a bit, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the eggs in a thin stream while stirring the soup.

4.  Mix in the sesame oil, black pepper and green onions, remove from heat and enjoy!