Chicken and Corn Egg Drop Soup
Ahh, childhood!! When we’d shop at Ranch 99, they’d give us coupons that could be used at the deli counter — if we got the bento box it would come with corn and egg drop soup, which was the part that I look forward to most. My mom would make her own version of at home during the summer months using sweet corn and chunks of chicken. I used ground chicken but you could def use small cubes of chicken breast or thigh!
I used:
- 1 scallion, minced, separating whites and light greens from darks
- 2 ears of sweet corn, kernels sliced off
- 32 oz chicken bone broth (I use Kettle & Fire!)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/3 lb ground chicken
- chicken marinade: 1 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp shaoxing wine
- cornstarch slurry (mix together): 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1/4 cup water
- white pepper
- salt
- MSG
- garnish: sesame oil, scallions
- other ideas: enoki, seaweed
To make:
- Marinade chicken in cornstarch and shaoxing wine for at least 10 minutes
- Heat up some neutral oil over medium heat and, sauté scallion whites and lights for about ~30 seconds to a minute until fragrant
- Add in the marinated ground chicken and sauté until almost fully cooked, breaking it up into little chunks with your spatula
- If your chicken has kinda stuck to the pan, deglaze it with a splash of shaoxing wine
- Add in chicken stock, water, and corn kernels
- Bring to a boil and let it simmer for ~5 minutes
- At this point, you can scoop off any scum you might see on the surface
- Add white pepper and salt to taste. I also like to add in a few pinches of MSG.
- Swirl the water with chopsticks, once it starts circling, slowly pour in the egg
- Give the cornstarch slurry a stir to loosen any settled bits and mix into the soup. Cover and let simmer for another ~1-2 minutes until thickened to desired consistency
- Garnish bowls with sesame oil and scallions as preferred