Down East Asia

Egg Drop Soup

One of the reasons I love Asian food so much is for the medicinal and healing properties many of the ingredients used in the preparation of it have. Now, I am not talking about the ever popular Chinese take out food; which I also enjoy on occasion.  I am talking about authentic Asian cooking.  One of my favorite things to make at home is Asian soup. While you will find many of the soups that I make on a Chinese take out menu, they are not nearly as fresh and tasty as the ones I have made here in my kitchen.  

Egg Drop soup is a simple but incredibly flavorful soup that I make quite often.  The medicinal ingredient featured in this delightful soup is ginger. Ginger has many healing properties; the most well known being it's ability to help aid in digestion.  It also works as an anti inflammatory and also helps to strengthen your immune system. A good helping of this soup can make the long and brutally cold winter and the numerous illnesses that come with it, just a little bit easier to endure. 

The ingredients

Here I have low sodium chicken broth, low sodium soy sauce, sesame seed oil, white pepper, salt, two large eggs, two medium carrots, a small head of broccoli, ginger root and corn starch.

First I start cutting the carrots into small thin matchstick pieces.  I take just the tops of the broccoli florets and break them apart into small pieces. You do not typically find vegetables in egg drop soup but I like to add them for the texture and crunch.  Finally, I peel a good size knob of the ginger root to grate.  Ginger can be difficult to grate because it is so fiborous but freezing the ginger will make grating it a lot easier.  

Next I pour 4 cups of the low sodium chicken broth into a pot, add 1/8th cup of the soy sauce, grated ginger and bring to a boil.

While you are waiting for the broth to come to a boil, prepare the two eggs by breaking the yokes and lightly running a fork through them several times. I like to add a couple of drops of sesame seed oil to help separate the yokes.  

Next I prepare a slurry by combining 1 tablespoon of  corn starch and one tablespoon of water.

When the broth has come to a boil, slowly stir in the slurry and add the carrots and broccoli.  Bring back to a boil for another minute or so.  

Finally, add the egg by slowly pouring it into the broth.  Stir with a fork as you are adding the egg so it will separate and feather as it hits the hot broth.  Once the egg is completely incorporated,  add about a tablespoon of sesame seed oil, salt and white pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and serve.

While this is one of the easier Asian soups to make, by no means does that diminish it's flavoful and comforting qualities.  I have prepared this a number of times for people who were recovering from an illness. Whether or not it cured them, I can't really say but I can tell you with complete confidence that it sure did put a smile on their face and I hope it will bring a smile to your face as well.

Enjoy!