Corn Egg Drop Soup
This Chinese-style corn egg drop soup (玉米蛋花湯) is a 15-minute recipe which can be put together at short notice with everyday pantry ingredients. Besides being popular with home cooks, this soup is also popularly served in Cantonese restaurants. As the egg cooks, it scatters into pretty and silky soft egg flowers (蛋花), giving this otherwise humble Chinese dish a luxurious finish.
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My corn egg drop soup has a semi-thick consistency (similar to fish maw soup). You can control the consistency of the soup to your preference by adding more or less cornstarch slurry.
In a soup pot, bring low-sodium chicken stock to a boil. If you don’t have low-sodium stock, just dilute regular stock with water, to taste. I’m using Swanston tetra pak chicken stock with the ratio 3 parts stock: 2 parts water. Thicken the stock with cornstarch slurry (pictured above), until the desired soup consistency is reached.
Add corn nibblets to the pot, and boil for 2-3 minutes. You can use either frozen corn nibblets (no need to thaw unless it is all balled up) or tetra pak corn (drain and rinse before use).
Now here’s the egg drop action aka the fun part. Bring the heat down to a bare simmer. Stir the soup to create a whirlpool, then swirl in a whisked egg all around the pot.
The magic begins here. Using chopsticks or a spatula, stir the contents slowly in one direction for a few rounds. As you stir, you will see the pretty egg flowers forming.
Since this is a semi-thick soup, I prefer the egg strands to be fine & delicate, versus a soupier egg drop soup with larger “egg ribbons”.
To serve, garnish with white pepper powder, coriander &/spring onions and drizzle a few drops of sesame oil. This soup is really quick (15-minutes flat), fun to make, and it tastes really good too.
Corn Egg Drop Soup
For convenience, this recipe uses frozen corn nibblets (no need to thaw unless it is balled up) or tetra pak corn nibblets (rinsed and drained). You can also use cooked corn cob (usually vacuum-packed) or boil a raw corn cob for about 5 minutes.
Replace chicken stock with vegetable or mushroom stock to make this meatless dish vegetarian.
Ingredients:
- 500ml low-sodium chicken stock or 300-400 ml regular stock + the rest plain water, to taste
- 150g corn nibblets (frozen or tetra pak)
- cornstarch slurry dissolve 2 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water
- 4 dashes white pepper powder to taste
- salt only if needed; to taste
- 1 egg whisked
- pure sesame oil to taste
- chopped spring onions &/or coriander to garnish
Directions:
- Make soup base. Bring chicken stock to a boil, then stir in cornstarch slurry slowly to thicken the soup, until desired soup consistency is reached (you don’t need to use all of the slurry, if you prefer a less thick & soupier consistency).
- Add corn nibblets and bring the soup to a boil for 2 minutes (add 1 more minute if using frozen corn). Season with white pepper and salt (only if needed).
- Make egg-drop. Lower the heat to a bare simmer. Using chopsticks or a spatula, stir the soup to create a whirlpool, then swirl in the whisked egg a few times around the pot. Stir the soup in one direction gently and slowly for a few rounds. As you do so, you will see the egg cooking and separating into smaller strands.
- To serve, ladle soup to serving bowls. Drizzle a few drops of sesame oil for added aroma. Garnish with spring onions &/or coriander.