Corn Egg Drop Soup with Chicken
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats and NYT Cooking.
This corn and chicken version follows the classic egg drop soup method, but instead of a ginger-infused clear broth it is built on puréed and whole sweetcorn with small pieces of chicken, thickened a little more, with egg ribbons stirred in at the end. The result is sweet, silky and filling.
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Method
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Equipment
- blender
- fine sieve
- large saucepan
- rubber spatula or ladle
- small bowls
- measuring jug
- fork
- instant-read thermometer
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 149 kcal |
| Protein | 10.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 19.5 g |
| of which sugars | 5.3 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 4.2 g |
| of which saturates | 1.1 g |
| Fibre | 2.1 g |
| Salt | 2.49 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
7 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 6 servings
Chicken
- 150 g boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into 0.5 cm pieces
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornflour
- ½ tsp soy sauce
Soup
- 600 g sweetcorn kernels (cut from 5-6 cobs, or frozen and thawed), divided
- 120 ml water
- 1 l low-salt chicken broth, divided
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or table salt about ¼ tsp
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
Thickening
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp water
To finish
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1
Coat the chicken. Mix the chicken pieces with 1 tbsp water, 1 tsp cornflour and the soy sauce, then leave while you prepare everything else. This light coating seasons the meat and forms a thin protective layer, keeping the small pieces soft and juicy when they hit the hot soup.
- 2
Prepare eggs and slurry. Beat the eggs with 2 tsp water in the measuring jug until evenly yellow, with no streaks of white. In a small bowl, whisk 120 ml of the broth with the 3 tbsp cornflour until smooth. Having both ready before you start cooking means the final steps can happen quickly and in the right order.
- 3
Purée half the corn. Blend half the sweetcorn with the 120 ml water, starting on low and then switching to high, for about 1 minute until smooth. Push the purée through the fine sieve into the saucepan, pressing hard, and discard the husks left behind. The purée gives the soup natural sweetness and body, while sieving removes the chewy skins.
- 4
Bring to a simmer. Add the remaining broth and whole corn, the salt and the white pepper to the pan. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, then lower to a steady simmer. Boiling briefly cooks out any raw taste from the corn purée.
- 5
Cook the chicken. Drop in the chicken, stirring so the pieces separate rather than clumping, and simmer for 3 minutes. It is ready when it is white all the way through and a piece reads 74°C. Cutting it into small pieces is what lets it cook so quickly and evenly.
- 6
Thicken the soup. Stir the slurry again, as the cornflour will have settled, then whisk it into the soup. Simmer for 1 minute, until glossy and lightly thickened. Cornflour needs to reach a simmer to swell fully, so this short cooking time sets the texture and removes any starchy taste.
- 7
Add the egg ribbons. Stirring slowly, pour the beaten egg into the soup in a thin stream, then leave it alone for about 1 minute until the ribbons are firm and opaque. Give a gentle stir and serve scattered with the spring onion. The slow stir stretches the egg into strands, and the thicker soup holds them evenly throughout.
Storage
Cool and refrigerate covered for up to 3 days; freezing is not ideal, as the cornflour-thickened soup can turn spongy. Reheat gently, stirring, until piping hot (74°C), adding a splash of water if it has thickened. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
