Hot & Sour soup - modifications

On 12/9/2019 I used Jeffrey Eisner's recipe for Hot & Sour soup from pressureluckcooking.com. It was very good, however I made some modifications and believe my second attempt will suit me better after documenting the modifications and suggestions.

The original ingredient list:
7-8 cups of vegetable broth (I used 7 tsp of Vegetable Better Than Bouillon + 7 cups of water; NOTE: using 7 cups vs. 8 creates an even more intense hot & sour flavor of the soup)
1 tbsp of canola oil
3 tbsp of rice vinegar
1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp of chili garlic sauce (or Sriracha will work fine too!)
1 tsp of sesame oilsesame oil
1.5 tsp of granulated sugar
2 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of white pepper
1.5 tsp of Kosher salt
1 bunch (or about 5 strands) of scallions, sliced
16oz of Baby Bella (Crimini) mushrooms, sliced (you can also use Shiitake mushrooms, just remove the stems)
16oz can of bamboo shoots, drained
8-10oz bag of baby spinach
8-14oz of firm or extra firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup of cornstarch + 1/4 cup water, for a slurry
2 large eggs, whisked

I didn't have sriracha, or the correct chili garlic sauce, so I used Louisiana hot sauce and used chicken base in place of the "better than bouillon", since I prefer this brand and had no vegetable base left having used it all the day before.  

I also added diced chicken, hoisen sauce, sweet garlic chili sauce (contains honey as well as the peppers), white mushrooms & ginger.  I omitted the salt & sugar, cut the sesame oil & baby bella quantities in half, and doubled the tofu because I did not want any leftovers. 

I believe next time, I will either cut the tofu quantity in half, (Jeffrey's lowest estimated quantity would have been correct), or I will double the batch of soup.  There was just way too much tofu for me with it being doubled though, and I would add at least one more box of mushrooms, and would repeat all of the additions I made.  It really added to it giving it a much more robust flavor. 

It turned out so good in fact that even my mother, who hates hot & sour soup, ate two bowls! That is the true test of whether something is good! lol! 

PSYCHOPATH CHILI - IP

PSYCHOPATH CHILI

1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced—more if you like garlic
1-1/12 lbs. lean ground beef
2 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
4 14 oz. cans chili beans, drained and rinsed (hahaha)
1 14 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup beef stock or soup base
1 T steak seasoning
3 T chili powder
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup leftover coffee
2 tsp. cumin—more if desired
Chipotle powder or cayenne pepper to taste—we like our chili fairly spicy
Jalapeño salt to taste (worth looking for) If you don’t have it, regular salt will do.

Sauté vegetables, garlic, and meat in olive oil in IP for five minutes or so. When meat is still about half pink, add chili powder and cumin. Add remainder of ingredients plus a little water, if it’s not soupy enough for you.

Cook on Bean setting—my Bean setting is 30 minutes. I let it NPR for 10 minutes and then QR.

**  Taken from the IP group on Facebook.  Original authors name: Jody Wilson.  Link: [ https://www.facebook.com/groups/InstantPotCommunity/permalink/2889461994481103/ ]