| Egg
drop soup is inexpensive, tasty and easy
By Shannon K. Johnson
March 20, 2009 | Yes, reader it is
time for another recipe that has been hybridized for
those who live without wheat-egg drop soup.
This tasty dish is easy to make, and
very inexpensive. To make it you'll need chicken (frozen
or fresh), frozen corn, two fresh green onions, cornstarch
and raw eggs.
Most recipes will simply call for
chicken bouillion cubes to make the broth, but anyone
with wheat sensitivity beware this stock is often thickened
with wheat ingredients.
Instead, it is easier to make chicken
broth a fresh and spicy way to include the flavors you
enjoy.
Making chicken stock is simple: frozen
chicken breast thrown in a large pot with water, rosemary,
garlic salt and pepper.
Boil the chicken breast until the
water looks like stock-don't expect it to be golden
instead taste it. When the broth is nice and flavorful
take it off the heat.
Extract the chicken at this point
you can chop the chicken and throw it back in the soup
or save it for later. I usually add a few cups of water
to the stock to make a broth but if you like really
concentrated broth you don't have to dilute it.
To the broth add chopped green onions,
frozen corn and then brought back up to a boil. At this
time I add a second group of spices almost completely
to taste: ginger powder, garlic salt, rosemary and black
pepper all get thrown in.
Be careful this soup has very little
strong flavors in it naturally so the spices can really
change the flavor.
If you want to thicken the broth
it is a good idea to add cornstarch, but many people
will simply pour it directly into the soup. This method
limits portion control and can often lead to a lumpy
combination. Instead mix your cornstarch with warm water
and add it to the soup.
The decision to thicken the soup
is based on preference but many restaurants thicken
the broth.
After adding the cornstarch it to
continue to boiling for a few minutes.
Now it is time to add the namesake
to the soup. Take three or four eggs and crack them
into a separate container lightly beat the eggs I occasionally
mix ginger or salt into the eggs to give the soup a
bit more flavor.
Then pour a steady stream of egg
into the boiling water for thinner ribbons stir the
liquid more rapidly in a clockwise direction, for thicker
strips stir slowly in a clockwise direction.
Though I have never stirred the soup
counterclockwise I doubt it would cause great disaster.
But the thin tendrils of egg make the texture of the
soup very tasty.
This soup is designed to have a light
flavor to emphasize the egg taste it is also intended
as an appetizer so I recommend combining this dish as
an appetizer with any Asian meal or as a light lunch.
MS
KS
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