The only difficulty is that soup is one of those foods that, in general, also benefits from long slow cooking to extract and meld flavours together (think stock simmering for hours on a low stove). And although I want to eat soup, the last thing I want to do when I am sick is spend ages cooking. I nearly went to Chinatown to buy prawns and lemongrass for tom yum soup, but the thought of all that shelling and sauteing and simmering and straining before I even got to making the soup defeated me; meanwhile, suan-la-tang (Chinese H&S soup) usually also requires a plethora of exotic ingredients: char-siu pork, shrimp, firm and soft tofu, bamboo shoots, two different kinds of mushrooms...
The trick, however, is that the flavours of the latter don't absolutely require all of these ingredients to be present for the soup to work. Although the absolute best results would probably be obtained with a homemade long-simmered stock, the rich tang of the vinegar and the heat from peppers and chilli paste do their work even on an instant broth. Having the basic elements for a Sichuan sauce on hand as well as some vegetables and oddments (such as dried wood ear mushrooms -- which last forever in the cupboard and swell up to three or four times their size in water, meaning one packet has lasted me years so far!) also helps; and a packet of ready-to-eat fried tofu puffs in spicy chilli oil provided the last element for a hot-and-sour soup that was everything I wanted on a cold (in both senses of the word) night.
Don't be put off by a seemingly long list of ingredients; once the first batch is sizzling in the pan, each new addition can be chopped as the previous one cooks, and most ingredients can be substituted out if you don't have something on hand. The whole soup took me less than 20 minutes from start to yum.
Fast Hot & Sour Soup
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and shredded finely
2 fat cloves garlic, chopped small
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1 tsp sichuan peppercorns, roasted and crushed
several grinds black pepper
6 pieces fried spicy tofu, sliced
4-6 large leaves chinese cabbage, finely sliced crossways
4 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in hot water and sliced
~1 litre hot water
2 tsp vegetable stock powder
2 tbs shaoxing rice wine
2 tbs chinkiang vinegar
1 tbs light soy sauce (to taste)
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp chilli bean paste
1-2 tsp chiu chow chilli oil
handful enoki mushrooms
1 egg
2 spring onions, finely sliced
In a medium saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil (if the tofu came packed in oil, you can use this) and saute ginger, garlic, chilli and peppercorns for a few minutes, until fragrant. Add sliced tofu and continue to cook; add stem parts of cabbage and give it all a good stir. Add rice wine, vinegar and soy, then hot water and sugar, and remaining cabbage. Bring to a simmer, taste for seasoning and add more soy (or vinegar or sugar) if needed, remembering that the chilli paste is salty. Stir in chilli paste and oil; add mushrooms and bring just to the point of boiling. Stirring, add the egg in a thin stream (you can beat it in a cup first or if you are lazy like me, just crack it and open it over the pot with one hand while stirring vigorously with the other). Mix in spring onions and serve.
Makes 2 large bowlfuls (I ate them both :-9)
Note: Yes, I just happened to have enoki mushrooms needing to be used in the fridge. Any sort of shredded vegetable would work here, though I find the texture of enoki particularly toothsome in soups. Ditto the wood-ear mushrooms; they're a customary ingredient but not essential.
The tofu I used comes as fried puffs (spongy not solid) in a chilli oil already spiked with sichuan pepper, adding to the flavour. I can't find an exact picture online but it's probably similar to this: http://shop.waiyeehong.com/food-ingredients/snacks-sweets/crisps-snacks-nuts/savoury-snacks/marinated-tofu-spicy
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