Salty Soy Milk Soup (xian dou jiang)

Salty Soy Milk Soup (xian dou jiang) is a northern Chinese breakfast specialty, often served with shao bing or ci fan tuan--everyone in my family loves these types of foods. The acid in vinegar congeals the soy milk into tofu, ideally this should be somewhere between a liquid and solid. Use more or less acid depending on how much you want the warm soy milk to congeal.

Ingredients:

• plain soy milk (not sugared). Use the real kind that comes from a soy milk shop, not the super filtered kind made by Silk
• rice vinegar
• pickled mustard greens (available at Chinese or Japanese supermarket)
• sesame oil
• chili oil
• soy sauce
• something salty (e.g. Chinese bbq sauce, dried shrimp, or fried shallots)
• salt & white pepper

Place all ingredients except for soy milk into a bowl that is the single-serving sized; the quantities should be determined by the individual's taste. Lightly mix.

Warm enough soy milk for 1 serving in a pot on the stove until just boiling. Carefully spoon the soy milk into the bowl. If desired, top the soup with a few sliced of Chinese donut. Serve immediately.

Variation: Warm 1 tsp Chinese bbq paste (vegetarian or non-vegetarian. use the Bulldog brand) in a pan. Add a tiny amount of hot chili oil, and fish sauce. Add soy milk and heat until boiling. Add soy milk to a bowl with some pickled mustard greens and 1 spoonful of rice vinegar. Garnish with Chinese 5-spice powder.