Chicken and Sweetcorn Egg Drop Soup. Quick and easy recipe (2024)

Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn (Egg Drop) Soup. This is a really quick and easy recipe and perfect as a starter or a main meal. You can also swap the chicken for crab or tofu. Very versatile and simply yummy!

Oh I love Chinese Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup! In America, this is commonly known as 'Egg Drop Soup'. Did you ever order it when you went to a Chinese restaurant? Maybe you wondered how they make it with those famous white flecks you see in the soup, often common in Chinese soups.

I have made this Chicken and Sweetcorn Egg Drop soup from scratch. It's easy enough to do, and you can have it ready for serving within 30 minutes! It's very straightforward and you will see the ingredients are regular, so you will most likely already have the ingredients to hand in your home.

I like to swirl some Soy Sauce and Chinese Rice Wine Vinegar on the top as garnish and also flavor.The vinegar gives another dimension to the taste and is certainly pleasing!

This recipe is very adaptable, so you can use chicken, crab, which is also very popular, or tofu for our vegetarian friends. Whichever ingredient you choose, it will always be delicious and worthy at any dinner table!

Chicken and Sweetcorn Egg Drop Soup is a great dish to serve as a starter to a Chinese dinner, or as a lunch. Serve this along with our delicious Sesame Prawn / Shrimp Toasts. They add a lovely texture and go so well with this soup! They also are very quick to make too!

I often make this chicken and sweetcorn egg drop soup for Chinese New Year, and serve as a starter before the main Chinese dishes which usually include Drunken Chinese Chicken, Yuk Sung (Chinese Lettuce Wraps), Chinese Crab with Scallions, and Sticky Sweet Chinese Ribs, to name just a few dishes!

As you will probably know, a Chinese banquet is usually made up of several dishes, set in the middle of a table and everyone sits around and helps themselves. As a general guide, my mother always said, when ordering a Chinese meal in a restaurant or planning to make a variety at home, always have 1 more dish than the number of people eating. That way you will have enough and it is Chinese superstition that your diners should have a feast, so ordering extra means you will not see the bottom of your diners' rice bowls! (That's another superstition, which means you haven't fed them enough!!)

At the end of this post I've added a variety of different Chinese dishes for you to enjoy, we have many different recipes, all are very easy, and there's something for everyone! So please do take a look and select a few to go with your Chicken and Sweetcorn Egg Drop Soup. So let's get straight to the recipe and please enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast or leg, deboned and finely sliced. (Pork, Tofu, Crab Meat etc can also be used)
• 2 Pints / 5 cups / 1 litre of broth.
• 1.5 cups / 350 ml milk
• 1 cup / 200 g Corn - frozen or canned
• 1 egg, separated

For the Marinade

(for chicken) If using other non-meat then mix the ingredients listed in a bowl and add straight to the broth.

• a pinch of sugar
• ½ tsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Ground ginger powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp water
• 1 ½ tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp White Pepper

For the Thickener

• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch + 3 tsp water - mix to a paste
• You may need more or less thickener depending on if you like the soup thick or thin!

For Garnish

• 1 Spring onion/scallion
• 1 teaspoon per bowl of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon per bowl of Chinese Rice Wine Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar or white wine vinegar.

Instructions

1. Thinly slice the meat, then add all the marinade ingredients and combine. Set aside whilst you prepare the corn.

2. Separate the egg so the egg white is in a small bowl and the yolk is in the blender.Using a fork, beat the egg white until it is foamy and set aside.

3. In a large pan, add your broth. If using a chicken leg, as I did, I took the meat off the bone and added the bone to make some broth.

4. Set on a low simmer, and from the corn quantity, add 2 - 3 tablespoons of corn kernels to the broth. Optional, if you have any fresh ginger, you may add a couple of slices to the broth whilst it is simmering.

5. Add the remaining corn to a blender together with the milk and puree. The egg yolk should already be in there. I use a pulse setting so my corn is still lumpy for the texture.

6. If you have added bones or other things to your broth, please remove them now using a slotted spoon.

7. Turn up the heat to high, and stirring the broth, add the meat, keep stirring so the meat doesn't stick together, then add the sweetcorn mixture, again, stirring until everything is combined.

8. Once the soup has reached boiling, add the thickener, a little at a time, stirring until it reaches the thickness you like, then turn the heat down and set on a low simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.

9. Whilst simmering, with one hand, using a slotted spoon, stir in circles the soup, and with the other hand, pour in a circular motion the egg white so it makes white ribbons in the soup. Stir in circles until the egg white sets and then the soup is ready for serving.

If you like the egg drop a lot, you can use an extra egg white!

Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped scallions, cilantro etc, and a swirl of soy sauce and vinegar.

PLEASE NOTE, I did not over salt this soup, partly because of the use of soy sauce in the marinade, and also because of the swirl of soy sauce for the garnish. I would advise you also do not salt the soup, but leave it to your diners to add soy sauce at the table if they so wish to.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Recipe Card

Chicken and Sweetcorn Egg Drop Soup

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Chinese Chicken and Sweetcorn (Egg Drop) Soup. This is a really quick and easy recipe and perfect as a starter or a main meal. You can also swap the chicken for crab or tofu. Very versatile and simply yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast or leg, deboned and finely sliced. (Pork, Tofu, Crab Meat etc can also be used)
• 2 Pints / 5 cups / 1 litre of broth.
• 1.5 cups / 350 ml milk
• 1 cup / 200 g Corn - frozen or canned
• 1 egg, separated
• For the marinade (for chicken) If using other non-meat then mix the ingredients listed in a bowl and add straight to the broth.
• a pinch of sugar
• ½ tsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Ground ginger powder
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp water
• 1 ½ tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp White Pepper
• For the Thickener
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch + 3 tsp water - mix to a paste
• *** You may need more or less thickener depending on if you like the soup thick or thin!
• For garnish
• 1 Spring onion/scallion
• 1 teaspoon per bowl of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon per bowl of Chinese Rice Wine Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar or white wine vinegar.

Instructions

1. Thinly slice the meat, then add all the marinade ingredients and combine. Set aside whilst you prepare the corn.

2. Separate the egg so the egg white is in a small bowl and the yolk is in the blender. Using a fork, beat the egg white until it is foamy and set aside.

3. In the large pan, add your broth. If using a chicken leg, as I did, I took the meat off the bone and added the bone to make some broth.

4. Set on a low simmer, and from the corn quantity, add 2 - 3 tablespoons of corn kernels to the broth. Optional, if you have any fresh ginger, you may add a couple of slices to the broth whilst it is simmering.

See Also

Pomegranate Mint Raita RecipeThai Green Curry - Vegan Curry Recipe!Feast of the Seven Fishes Holiday RecipesMadhur Jaffrey's Stir-Fried Cabbage with Fennel Seeds Recipe on Food52

5. Add the remaining corn to a blender together with the milk and puree. The egg yolk should already be in there.I use a pulse setting so my corn is still lumpy for the texture.

6. If you have added bones or other things to your broth, please remove them now using a slotted spoon.

7. Turn up the heat to high, and stirring the broth, add the meat, keep stirring so the meat doesn't stick together, then add the sweetcorn mixture, again, stirring until everything is combined.

8. Once the soup has reached boiling, add the thickener, a little at a time, stirring until it reaches the thickness you like, then turn the heat down and set on a low simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.

9. Whilst simmering, with one hand, using a slotted spoon,stir in circles the soup, and with the other hand, pour in a circular motion the egg white so it makes white ribbons in the soup. Stir in circles until the egg white sets and then the soup is ready for serving.

Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped scallions, cilantro etc, and a swirl of soy sauce and vinegar.

Notes

• If you like the egg drop a lot, you can use an extra egg white!
• For chicken soup, use chicken broth, crab = fish broth or vegetable, and Tofu, use vegetable broth.
• I did not over salt this soup, partly because of the use of soy sauce in the marinade, and also because of the swirl of soy sauce for the garnish. I would advise you also do not add extra salt to the soup, but leave it to your diners to add soy sauce at the table if they so wish to.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 430Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 5368mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 30g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate