One of the first things we made in my home science class at school was the Chinese restaurant classic egg drop soup – crab and sweet corn. I remember at the time being super impressed with how adding the thin steam of beaten egg at the end gave the soup such an exotic texture. I then pretty much forgot about trying to make it myself until a few months ago, which is a long time between soups. I can’t remember what inspired me to make a soup with egg in it, but I’m so glad I did!
If you’re wondering, the ‘flower’ in the title just refers to the beautiful and unique appearance the egg gives our soup.
Egg ‘Flower’ Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 can chickpeas 400g / 14oz, drained
- 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3-4 eggs whisked
- 4 green onions optional
Instructions
- Bring chickpeas and stock to the boil in a medium saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes. Season with soy sauce.
- Turn the heat as low as possible. Slowly pour eggs into the soup in a fine stream, while stirring the soup constantly so you get lovely fine ribbons of egg.
- Remove from the heat. Add chopped green onions (if using) and serve.
Variations
leftover-free – omit the green onions or replace with a bunch of chives chopped.
vegan / egg-free – replace eggs with an extra can of chickpeas. To thicken the soup puree with a stick blender so that some of the chickpeas are smooth and others still whole.
chickpea-free – replace chickpeas with a drained can of sweet corn. Or remove the kernels from 2 cobs of corn and simmer until cooked before adding the egg.
carnivore – for a chicken soup replace chickpeas with finely sliced 2 chicken breasts. Simmer until just cooked before adding the egg OR Make an ‘egg and bacon’ soup by browning some chopped bacon and adding to the soup.
fancy – toss in a few handfuls of cooked crab meat.
no leftover green onions – If you used a whole bunch they would completely overpower everything. To avoid leftovers, either just omit them or replace with a bunch of chives chopped.
carb lovers / more substantial – serve soup with crusty bread or rice noodles cooked according to the packet.
paleo (grain, legume & dairy-free) – replace chickpeas with roast veg.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
chicken or vegetable stock – pantry for cubes or tetra packs or cans. Home made stock can be frozen.
chickpeas, soy sauce – pantry.
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
green onions – skip them or keep in the fridge in a plastic bag for weeks.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
Made this last night and sautéed some carrots and onions first before adding in the broth, chickpeas, and corn…just decided to use up a bunch of vegs that needed using. Turned out very tasty. Never would have thought to put chickpeas in an egg drop soup so I’m glad you suggested it!
Yum Becca!
This is my new favourite post-gym dinner. Perfect light and healthy meal. I went the corn rout instead of chickpeas and added a couple of blocks of frozen spinach to bump up my veggie quotient for the day. Such a winner.
Wonderful Matilda!
Great idea to add some extra veg.
Jx
I had to make this soup twice this week. My four-year-old son had three servings when I first made it on Monday, and another three on Saturday night – he was asking for it so insistantly that I made a fresh pot. For the record, this is VERY rare. He eats about as much as a bird and usually greets whatever I bring to the table with a preemptive “I don’t like it”. So, I’m so happy to have an easy-quick-healthy-doesn’t-require-fancy-ingredients recipe that I know he will like.
As an aside, I added a tablespoon of miso paste (it was lying around in the fridge and I thought why not), and I really liked the flavor it added.
Wonderful Marina!
So glad your son likes this soup.
Great idea to add miso… that would add a lovely depth of flavour.
Jx