Corn Egg Drop Soup is an easy but delicious Chinese soup that only takes 10 minutes to cook! Made with only simple ingredients that you can find in a regular grocery store, but so much better than takeout!
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Better than takeout: Corn Egg Drop Soup at Chinese restaurants can be too goopy if they are too heavy handed with the corn starch. Homemade tastes better and can be healthier too, if you use homemade chicken broth!
- Quick but delicious: with a chicken stock cube or chicken broth on hand, it's done in 10 minutes or less! Like Chinese Napa Cabbage soup, it's the perfect recipe for when you're short on time.
- Simple: Like Cantonese ABC soup, the recipe only uses readily available ingredients from a mainstream supermarket- no need to hike to the Asian market!
Note: for other Asian egg recipes, click here.
🥘 Ingredients
You will only need:
- chicken stock: you can use well-seasoned homemade chicken broth, shopbought chicken stock, a chicken bouillon cube or chicken stock powder. If you don't eat meat, you can substitute with a vegetable stock.
- canned corn: you can also use frozen corn or fresh corn. (Fresh corn would take longer obviously as you would need to cut the kernels off the cob.) I have tried cooking fresh corn in the soup and, if you use chicken bouillon, using fresh corn cobs doesn't add a noticeable amount of flavor. (I tried cooking fresh corn with Kombu but the taste was not as good as chicken stock.)
- Eggs: beaten till well-mixed. If you prefer seasoned eggs, add the tiniest pinch of salt when beating. Make sure the eggs have been beaten before you start cooking.
- Cornstarch: (Known as cornflour in Asia) Mixed with water to make a slurry. You can substitute with tapioca flour mixed with water. I do not suggest omitting this as, otherwise, the soup will be too thin and taste like flavoured water.(Chinese soups are as much about texture as flavor.)
- Salt: if using a stock cube, you may be able to omit this
- Ground white pepper: optional but gives the soup a slight warmth and a more authentic Chines flavor
- Ground turmeric: this is not a traditional Chinese ingredient in egg drop soup but a pinch of ground turmeric makes the soup look much more golden and appetising! See below for reference. (If you don't use too much, it won't change the flavor of the soup.) However, if you prefer not to use turmeric but still want a golden color, beat only egg yolks for the soup.
- Toasted sesame oil and sliced scallions: as garnish. You can also add a drizzle of sesame oil into the eggs, when beating, to make them more fragrant.
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- Chicken Egg Drop Soup: omit the corn and make the soup as per the recipe below but add leftover rotisserie chicken
- Seafood Egg Drop Soup: add surimi crab sticks
- Healthier Egg Drop Soup: add vegetables and other nutritious ingredients such as mushrooms, tofu and baby spinach. But don't add too much as we don't want their flavors to dominate the soup! (The chicken stock and egg flavor should shine through.)
- Spicy Corn Soup: add chili oil on top
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
- Optional: heat oil in a wok or pot over high heat and when the oil is shimmering, add the sweet corn kernels and briefly stir fry. Continue to next step. (There will be a lot of oil sizzling and it may splatter on you so feel free to skip this step.)
2a. Carefully pour chicken stock into the pot or wok and bring to the boil. (Again be careful of splatter.)
2b. Whilst the soup is coming to the boil, mix the cornstarch with water to make a cornstarch slurry.
3a. Reduce the heat so the soup is at a gentle simmer. Slowly pour ½ the cornstarch slurry into the soup whilst simultaneously stirring in 1 direction, simmer for 2-3 minutes and taste.
3b. If you find the soup not thick enough, repeat with the rest of the slurry. (I like the consistency when all the cornstarch has been added.)
Note: if you mixed the cornstarch slurry too long ago, there may be a bit of separation between the starch and water. Make sure to mix well before pouring into the soup.
4a. Season to taste with the salt, turmeric and white pepper.
4b. After the chicken corn soup is at the right consistency, slowly pour the beaten egg into the soup whilst stirring in 1 direction.
Note: this should be done almost immediately after the soup reaches the right consistency, as simmering longer will make the soup thicker.
4c. Once all the egg has been added to the simmering soup, switch off the fire. Garnish with spring onions and sesame oil.
Note: To retain the delicate texture of the eggs, avoid cooking them for too long. The eggs should cook almost instantly upon contact with the simmering broth.
Tip #1: Ground white pepper and ground turmeric both clump very easily. Make sure the fine powders are not lumpy and slowly add to the soup whilst continuously stirring. (This is to prevent lumps of pepper or lumps of turmeric.)
🥡 How to Store
Extra Chinese egg drop soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Bring to the boil to reheat fully but be careful not to boil for too long or the soup may become too thick. If so, add some more water then cook down to your desired consistency.
💭 Recipe FAQs
To prevent the eggs from clumping, make sure the soup is at a gentle simmer before slowly adding the beaten eggs. Stir the soup continuously in one direction as you pour in the eggs to create delicate ribbons.
For more flavor, consider adding some ginger slices, soy sauce, a splash of rice vinegar, or a dash of sesame oil.
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
Enjoyed this easy Egg Drop Soup with Corn Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this easy Cantonese soup, please consider supporting it by buying me a bottle of soy sauce! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Corn Egg Drop Soup (10-min)
Equipment
- Large pot
- Heat-proof ladle
Ingredients
- 2 Cups chicken stock Substitute: you can use well-seasoned homemade chicken broth, shopbought chicken stock, a chicken bouillon cube (½ chicken stock cube mixed in 2 Cups of water) or chicken stock powder. If you don't eat meat, you can substitute with a vegetable stock.
- ½ Cup canned corn Substitute: fresh corn but it would take longer obviously. I have tried cooking fresh corn in the soup and, with a chicken bouillon cube, using fresh corn cobs doesn't add a noticeable amount of flavor. (It does however reduce the amount of seasoning you need to add to homemade chicken broth.)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Water For the cornstarch below.
- ½ Tablespoon Cornstarch Mixed into 1 Tablespoon of water. (Known as cornflour in Asia) Mixed with water to make a slurry. You can substitute with tapioca flour mixed with water. I do not suggest omitting this as, otherwise, the soup will be too thin and taste like flavoured water.(Chinese soups are as much about texture as flavor.)
- 2 Eggs beaten till well-mixed. If you prefer seasoned eggs, add the tiniest pinch of salt and sesame oil when beating.
- ¼ teaspoon Salt to taste. If using a stock cube, you may be able to omit this
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground white pepper optional but gives the soup a slight warmth and a more authentic Chinese flavor. The flavor is strong so add a bit at a time.
- ⅛ teaspoon Ground turmeric this is not a traditional Chinese ingredient in egg drop soup but it makes the soup look much more golden and appetising! (If you don't use too much, it won't change the flavor of the soup.)
- Sesame oil Drizzled as garnish
- Scallions Sliced, as garnish
Instructions
- Optional: heat oil in a wok or pot over high heat and when the oil is shimmering, add the corn kernels and briefly stir-fry. Continue to next step. (There will be a lot of oil sizzling and it may splatter on you so feel free to skip this step.)
- Carefully pour chicken stock into the pot or wok and bring to the boil. (Again be careful of splatter.)Note: Whilst the soup is coming to the boil, mix the cornstarch with water to make a cornstarch slurry.
- Reduce the heat so the soup is at a gentle simmer. Slowly pour ½ the cornstarch slurry into the soup whilst simultaneously stirring in 1 direction, simmer for 2-3 minutes and taste.
- If you find the soup not thick enough, repeat with the rest of the slurry. (I like the consistency when all the cornstarch has been added.)Note: if you mixed the cornstarch slurry too long ago, there may be a bit of separation between the starch and water. Make sure to mix well before pouring into the soup.
- After the soup is at the right consistency, slowly pour the beaten egg into the soup whilst stirring in 1 direction.Note: this should be done almost immediately after the soup reaches the right consistency, as simmering longer will make the soup thicker.
- Season to taste with the turmeric, white pepper and salt, if using.
- Once all the egg has been added to the simmering soup, switch off the fire. Garnish with sliced spring onions and sesame oil.Note: To retain the delicate texture of the eggs, avoid cooking them for too long. The eggs should cook almost instantly upon contact with the simmering broth.
Notes
Nutrition
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