Egg drop soup

 Egg drop soup

 

Approximate amounts

 

1. 1 lb ground lean pork – or finely diced pork sirloin, marinate with 1 Tbsp shoyu, and optional black ground pepper 

2. 1 finely diced onion

3. 6 eggs, well beaten with about ¼ tsp salt.

4. 6C chicken broth or chicken soup 

5. 10 heaps full tsp of cornstarch well mixed in about ¼ C of water and make a “watery” paste

 

Optional: 

Cubed firm or soft tofu 

Finely sliced green onions as garnish

Pre-soak 3 to 5 washed (dried) shiitake mushroom in hot water.  Can boil in a pot, then switch off and leave to soak in covered pot for about 1 hour; then dice into cubes.

 

1. Brown onions lightly in some oil on medium to medium high.  Scoop onions into a small bowl and set aside.

2. Skip step 2 if not using mushroom.  Brown diced mushroom on med to med high in a tsp of oil till light brown with a tsp of shoyu.  Scoop into the same small bowl with onions and set aside.

3. Add some 2 tsp oil to coat the bottom of pot, add pork, bring heat to high and stir fry till lightly brown, add ¼ tsp of salt and dash of black pepper.  If port is fatty, you’ll need less oil also and pour off the extra fat.  You could also cook the pork in some water and pour off the fatty liquid, cool that liquid and refrigerate.  Lift off fat and use another day for soup stock.  You can freeze it to use another day to make egg soup or some other dish.

4. Skip step 4 if not using tofu and mushroom.  Add tofu pieces, onion and mushroom with an additional Tbsp of shoyu; simmer with the pork on medium heat for 10 min.  If mixture is too dry, add some soup stock or chicken broth.

5. Add the chicken broth.  Bring to a boil.  Taste and add seasonings if needed.  Remember canned broth is usually salty.  Boil about 1 to 2 C of water and set on the side.  

6. On medium to medium high heat, stir in cornstarch water mixture, stirring until it is lightly thickened, not lumpy.  If too thick, you may add some hot water to make it to the right consistency.  If not thick enough, add some 2 to 4 tsp of corn starch to some water.  Stir into soup, until of right consistency.

7. Drop the beaten egg lightly over the soup.  When the eggs start to set, gently stir the soup in a circular up and down motion, to distribute the eggs throughout the soup; try to make it look like “flowers”; gently scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula, to prevent the eggs from sticking to it.  Sprinkle more ground black pepper if you want.  Taste.  Remove from heat.  Do not let leave on the heat to keep boiling, as the cornstarch will turn watery if overcooked.