Egg drop soup! Less of a dish, more of a technique:

0:00 - Three Egg Drop Soups
0:42 - Cantonese Chicken & Corn Egg Drop
2:47 - The Stream & Stir Method
3:11 - Sichuanese Hot & Sour Egg Drop
3:54 - The Lading Method
4:46 - Lanzhou Milky Dessert Egg Drop
5:57 - The Whirlpool Method
6:31 - Does Egg Drop Always Need Thickened?

CANTONESE CHICKEN & CORN EGG DROP

* Ginger, ~1/2 cm, minced
* Water or stock, 2 cups
* Chicken breast, 60g
* Corn, ~1/2 ear, or 60g (frozen is also ok)
* Seasoning: salt, ½ tsp; sugar, ¼ tsp; chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), ¼ tsp
* Slurry: 1.5 tbsp starch - preferably root vegetable starch like potato (土豆生粉), tapioca (木薯淀粉), or waterchestnut (马蹄粉) – mixed with 3 tbsp of water
* Egg, 1, beaten
* To finish: sprinkle (~1/8 tsp) white pepper powder; drizzle (~1/8 tsp) of toasted sesame oil; chopped cilantro to garnish

Note that if you’re working from stock, you can skip the chicken bouillon powder. Maybe add a sprinkle (~1/16 tsp) of MSG instead.

Process:

Fry the minced ginger in a bit (~1 tsp) of oil, and when fragrant add in the water (or stock). Add in the chicken breast. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer, and cook the chicken breast until a chopstick can puncture cleanly right through it, ~5-6 minutes.

Remove the chicken, and pound it with a back of a knife. Thoroughly shred until you can get the chicken into stringy, crumbly bits.

Add the corn to the soup. Boil for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked. Add back in the shredded chicken and season.

Make sure the flame is on low. Drizzle in the starch slurry in bit by bit to thicken, stirring constantly. If using the stream-and-stir method, shut off the heat (otherwise, keep the flame on low). Drop in your beaten egg according to your egg drop method of choice. Mix in the white pepper and the toasted sesame oil. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle over the chopped cilantro.

SICHUANESE HOMESTYLE HOT & SOUR EGG DROP

* Ginger, ~1/2 cm, minced
* Water or stock, 2 cups
* Seasoning: soy sauce (生抽), ½ tsp; salt, ½ tsp; chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), ¼ tsp
* Slurry: 1.5 tbsp starch - preferably root vegetable starch like potato (土豆生粉), tapioca (木薯淀粉), or waterchestnut (马蹄粉) – mixed with 3 tbsp of water
* Egg, 1, beaten
* Dark Chinese vinegar (陈醋 or 香醋), 1 tbsp
* White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), ½ tsp
* Chopped scallion to garish

Same deal re stock: if you’re using stock, you can skip the chicken bouillon powder. Maybe add a sprinkle (~1/16 tsp) of MSG instead.

Process:

Fry the ginger in a bit of oil – lard, preferably – until fragrant. Add in the water (or stock). Bring up to a boil, then down to a simmer, and season. Make sure the flame is on low, and drizzle in the starch slurry in bit by bit to thicken, stirring constantly. If using the stream-and-stir method, shut off the heat (otherwise, keep the flame on low). Drop in your beaten egg according to your egg drop method of choice.

Mix in the vinegar and the white pepper powder. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle over a bit of chopped scallions.

LANZHOU MILK & FERMENTED RICE DESSERT EGG DROP

Note that for both the nuts and dried fruits in this recipe, we basically just used what we had on hand – so do feel free to take the same liberty. Some raisins and peanuts/sesame seeds might be nice, though.

Also, obviously no need to pre-toast if you’re working from toasted nuts.

* Nuts: peanuts, ~10; pumpkin seeds (南瓜子), ~10; sesame seeds (芝麻), ¼ tsp
* Milk, 1 cup
* Sugar, ½ tsp
* Baking soda (苏打粉), ½ tsp
* Dried fruit: dried apricot (杏脯), 10g; raisins (葡萄干), ~8; goji berries (枸杞), ~8
* Laozao (a.k.a. jiuniang) fermented rice (醪糟/酒酿), ½ cup
* Egg, 1, beaten

Process:

If your nuts are untoasted, first toast the nuts. Over a medium low flame, ~6 minutes for peanuts and pumpkin seeds, ~3 minutes for toasted sesame seeds. Peel the peanuts and break them in half with your fingers. Reserve.

Bring the milk up to a simmer. Add in the sugar and the baking soda. Mix in the dried fruit, let them soften in the milk for a minute or so. Add in the fermented rice, let everything simmer together for 2-3 minutes. If using the stream-and-stir method, shut off the heat (otherwise, keep the flame on low). Drop in your beaten egg according to your egg drop method of choice.

In your serving bowl, first add in the toasted nuts, then pour in the hot soup. Serve.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
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