Some of my favorite recipes to share are the comfort foods I grew up eating, especially when they’re quick AND easy to whip up with ingredients you likely have on-hand. When we first immigrated to the US, corn egg drop soup was a beloved budget and pantry dish that only took minutes to get on the table. The combo of sweet corn in savory, peppery broth with thin ribbons of egg is oh so simple yet comforting. It was always a favorite amongst the kids (my grandma made it for us with sliced hot dogs, which doesn’t sound so appetizing now, but it was quite the treat back then!). I still find myself craving this soup every so often but try to use better quality ingredients where I can.
And a quick note – we just updated all the recipes on this blog to be printable and rate-able, so if you’ve tried any of them, please take a minute and leave a quick star rating right on the recipe card! I’ve really loved hearing your thoughts on these dishes, as well as any substitutions and modifications made.
Egg allergy note: Since my kids have egg allergies, I just take portions out for them beating in the egg. Nori always gobbles this soup up, and it can easily be pureed a bit to make it even more baby-friendly.
We also love Just Egg brand liquid egg substitute which works really well in almost all recipes that call for egg. Just FYI that while my kids have not had a problem with it, Just Egg is produced in a facility that also processes egg products.
Chinese Corn Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 1 can cream style corn; do not drain* (cream style corn is dairy free)
- 2 cups good broth** 1 can or half a large box of broth
- 1 to 2 eggs beaten in a bowl with a fork
- Salt, black pepper, & white pepper to taste
Optional
- 1/3 lb uncooked ground chicken my preference - see quick marinade below, or use any cooked chicken you have, like shredded rotisserie chicken.
- 2 teaspoons corn or tapioca starch***
- Sesame oil, scallions or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Note: In the photos here I had doubled this recipe to make a full pot, but added 2 cups of frozen corn instead of a second can of cream style corn.Pour broth and corn in a pot and heat it up over medium heat until it reaches a low simmer. If using a mix of frozen corn and canned corn like in these photos, I put the frozen corn in first and let it simmer longer before adding in the canned.
- Add in optional chicken. If you're using uncooked ground chicken, add it to the simmering soup and quickly try to break it up into small pieces using a spatula, as it cooks within the pot. It takes about 5 minutes for ground chicken to cook through while the pot is simmering. If you're adding chicken that's already cooked, it will only take a few minutes to heat up.
- Mix in optional starch slurry. Mix starch with a little cold water in a separate bowl until well dissolved. Stir this into the soup.
- Beat eggs with a fork. Then use the fork to gently stir the soup in a circular motion (not too rigorously) while slowly pouring the beaten eggs into the soup to create egg drop "ribbons."
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. I love lots of pepper on this and add more when serving! I also like to add a dash of optional fish sauce to this soup. Finish by garnishing with scallions or cilantro and a drizzle of sesame on top.
Optional ground chicken marinade
- If you're using uncooked ground chicken, do this step in the very beginning. I quickly marinade the ground chicken directly in the tray that it comes in. I do about 1 teaspoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, drizzle of sesame oil. Mix with a spoon and set aside until Step 3 above.
Notes
Serving suggestion: in Chinese culture soups are usually served alongside a meal and not as the main dish, but I’ve been making a quick meal out of this served with shortcut scallion pancakes! I usually double this recipe (it freezes well) and make several pancakes in advance, and just reheat the pancakes before eating with a quick pan sear.
Do you have any favorite childhood meals that you still love making?
I’ve used your recipe several times and our family loves it! We have a 2 year old and 9 month old who gobble it up, especially the chicken. I always make extra! Thanks for a great recipe!
Amazing! Just had it for dinner with a side of dumplings. So very comforting x
Really nice comforting soup that came together so quick. I didn’t have cream corn so I used frozen corn and a couple teaspoons of sugar along with the corn starch slurry. My husband liked this soup as well!
Sooo good! Thank you so much for the recipe, Jean! I didn’t think the extra step of marinating the chicken would do much, but you can really taste it in the final product! And the recipe comes together SO quickly. This will definitely be a new staple in our house!
Made this the other night and the kids gobbled it up. I browned up the quick marinated ground chicken first then added the rest of the ingredients. Also threw in some chopped frozen spinach at the end so that I could tell myself I fed my family something nutritious
I made the egg drop chicken corn soup this evening. Very delicious, even used a dollop of fish sauce and the sesame oil drizzle. However, though using your precise measures we found the soup too thick. I added another two cups of broth and it was much better – thinned it out to be more like a soup than a stew.
How do you keep the outside (lid and pot) so clean?
Hi Jenny, we don’t do anything special to clean it, but we previously had an electric stove which doesn’t really leave marks. If you have a gas range it’s typical and normal to have more flame marks on the outside.
Love this recipe! I will try it!
Hi! What’s the guidance on freezing this? Is it ok to freeze with the ground chicken? I can’t wait to try this.
Hi Jillian! I freeze this after it’s cooked, with ground chicken and all. I take it out of the freezer a day or two before planning to eat it and let it thaw slowly in the refrigerator. Then heat up in the microwave or on stove top as normal. Enjoy!
Going to give this a try. What size is your Le Creuset Cast-Iron Dutch Oven? I’ve been eying it for awhile now but I can’t decide on the size.
Hi Alisha, we absolutely love ours and use them all the time! I included information about the sizing of ours in this post: https://www.extrapetite.com/2020/04/le-creuset-dutch-oven-sale-size-comparison.html
I just made this with ground turkey instead of ground chicken (the store was out) and it was still super yummy! So quick and perfectly Chinese. Hit all the right spots. Thank you for posting all these great recipes, Jean!
Hi, random question, but what’s the bowl Nori is holding in the picture? I have the Tripp trapp too and can’t seem to find an infant bowl or plate that will suction on the tray and the bowl she’s holding looks like it’s a suction one?
It’s by Beaba and is part of this 4-piece silicone dining set (https://amzn.to/2U2S6Jc) and it is a suction one! We love the size and depth of it and use it often.
Can anyone speak to how well this keeps and reheats? Thanks!
We typically make extra to refrigerate for leftovers and even freeze when we make this soup and never have any issues reheating!
Looks so yummy, I have an egg allergy, but have discovered a substitute and can’t wait to try it in this soup. Do the leftovers keep and reheat well?
Hi Jill! This keeps and reheats very well, we often make more for leftovers and have even frozen this without issues.
I’ve never had egg drop soup before but I decided to give it a try. It turned out sooo good. My husband who has tried egg drop soup said it was delicious!! This is definitely going to be a staple in my recipe book. Thank you so much for sharing quick, delicious and easy recipes.
Please keep posting more of your recipes! I’ve admired your fashion for years… Now I have a toddler and love all your mommy posts. We love to eat so these simple recipes are really great for our busy lifestyle
I Love your content, and as an Fashion Tips Blog in my 50’s I love finding ways to stay fresh and up to date adding to my new styling apparel business. I look forward to following!
This is so interesting! I’ve never had egg drop soup with corn in it but I can’t see how that would be a bad combo! Growing up, we had tomato & egg drop soup. Stirfried tomato & scrambled egg is also a super basic dish that I still love. I really love the uniqueness of your cooking posts and how you blend you and your husband’s heritage together through food!
Thanks for the inspo for last night dinner. I had leftover homemade chicken stock so made my version of corn soup with fake crab. I also tooked your advice not adding any corn starch. Thank you for sharing your stories & recipes. I looked forward to your daily posting. Love how you keep it real during this crazy time. Keep it up!
So simple!
These recipes have been SO helpful during quarantine!! Just actually made your congee again today and will def try this one out! Please keep the recipes coming!
I’ve been following you for many years and love the variety of content! I initially tuned in for the fashion advice–you were the first petite blogger I came across and I always found tons of relevant and practical inspiration here. When I became a full-time mama four years ago and wasn’t dressing up as much, I still came to experience fashion vicariously through you! Now that you’re including kid-gear, recipes, and mama-friendly fashion advice into the mix, I couldn’t be happier! These recipes have been amazing. My husband is Chinese, and while he has some tough memories from growing up, many of these comfort food recipes you have been sharing were the only good memories he had. Thanks to you I’ve been able to bring these foods back into his life. Thank you for this incredible gift. Much love to you and your growing, beautiful family!
Discovered your blog recently and love it! Great fashion and the recipes are perfect. My whole loves them. They’ve really transformed my quarantine cooking so thank you for that.
I absolutely love your recipes and cannot wait to try this. My sister and I have followed you on IG for years and though we live in 2 different states, we always bond by cooking your recipes and share our latest creations through our family chat group. It’s been giving the joy, entertainment and connection we’ve needed during these past couple of difficult months. Please keep up the cooking posts..and ignore those haters that criticize the lack of fashion posts on your blog. I always appreciate the realness and honesty you provide on your blog and social media!
Hearing this just about made me week … thanks so much for taking the time to share and for the uplifting words. Many of these simple recipes are special to me in some way as they make me nostalgic for my family or childhood so I’m so happy to hear how you and your sister have been utilizing them. xx
Can’t wait to try this! I can’t seem to find ground chicken here in Australia – can I use minced chicken instead? Or diced chicken?
Hi Celia, actually the traditional name for this is minced chicken corn soup using any cut of chicken that you mince up yourself at home with a big knife, so that would work perfectly!
Thanks for sharing this, brought back wonderful memories of my childhood.
Congrats on your pregnancy! Wish you & family all the best!
Love your blog & IG account- very helpful, although some clothing are harder to source/purchase in Canada.
Thank you, Mona! I appreciate that. Ah I know unfortunately, our retailer selections just aren’t the same and even the same stores offer a lot of different product and deals for US vs Canada : /
This looks amazing! My family loves egg drop soup. This will be on my menu plan next week.
Hi, thanks for posting! Brings back great memories – my family also made this quite often when I was growing up. We often added a pinch of dried chili flakes to each bowl just before serving. Nice touch on pairing with scallion pancakes!
Looks so yummy! I’ll have to try it!
Mireia from TGL
I had canned corn egg drop soup as a kid too! Now when I make it, I add cream of coconut, about a tablespoon or two. It depends how much cream of coconut is on hand. My kids love it!
That sounds like a very tasty addition!
This post brings a smile to my face. I’m Chinese and my dad makes a nearly identical corn egg drop soup, just sans chicken. It’s always been a hit amongst the kids growing up and to this day, it’s still one of my favorite easy-to-make soups. My kids now love it, too! Thank you for sharing!
My family always made it without chicken too just to keep things simple! It’s always these simple dishes that bring back the most nostalgia isn’t it
Thanks for the recipe! This soup reminds me of my childhood.