I love it. I wish I could make it correctly. But whenever I "drop" eggs into a soup, they get "curdley" rather than "whispy" the way it's supposed to be.
Are there any suggestions on why this keeps happening to me, even when I vary my methods slightly?
What is the trick?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Do you stir the soup into a whirlpool before you drop the eggs?
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
No, I haven't tried that. I usually stir quickly with a fork as I slowly pour.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Get your chicken stock simmering and stir it furiously in a circular motion. Then take your egg/water mixture and drizzle it on the sides of the vortex you've created.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I think getting the soup going really fast before you put the egg in is the key.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
I've never heard that, much less tried it. I've been so discouraged time after time--but maybe tonight I will try again.
I'm in and egg-drop-mood!
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Ouch! I bet that hurts.
You know, I can find tons of egg drop soup recipes on the internet, but I've never seen one that mentions getting it moving first. Maybe they just expect me to know this? Grrrrr.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I read it in an Asian food cookbook. I think I only made it once, but I seem to remember it working. That actually sounds pretty good. . . but I'd have to go shopping if I was gonna make it tonight, and I have leftovers to eat anyway.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
My secret Chinese culinary advisor taught me to thicken the soup with corn starch before adding the eggs.
You have to mix water into the cornstarch, in a separate bowl, whisk well, and only then add it to the soup. For some reason, any variance has disastrous effects. Then, let it cook for a while, whisking a lot, and bring it to a full rolling boil.
Only then can you safely add the eggs.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I make avgolemono soup, which is similar, but with lemon. I add spoonfuls of heated broth to the beaten eggs before adding them to the soup.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Tempering the eggs like Elizabeth suggests may or may not work. Because you're slowly bringing up the heat in the eggs before you add them to the dish, they may cook and clump faster, causing, well, curds rather than threads.
At the Chinese restaurant I worked in in high school, they mixed a bit of cold water in with the eggs and used a ladel to pour a thin stream of the egg wash into the swirling, boiling broth. One hand poured while the other hand stirred.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
I just want y'all to know that I successfully made egg drop soup for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!
Thank you! Once again, Hatrack makes my life better.
The only thing I did wrong, I went "crazy" with the eggs. Three eggs for maybe 4-5 cups of broth. By the time the vortex stopped, I still had a lot of eggs to pour, and I was afraid to make another vortex--you know, messing up what was already there. So I just kinda poured the rest in. They made big eggy clumps. But the rest had the *perrrrfect* texture. I savored every bite.
Thanks again!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Glad to be of service.
Oh wait, I didn't actually post my advice.
Ah well...
Glad it worked out.
Egg drop soup is wonderful.
I can state uncategorically that Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup is MUCH better with an egg whisked into it. Not the traditional recipe for egg-drop soup, of course, but really, not bad at all.
Yummy.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Try a little lemon, too, Bob.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Top Ramen makes a pretty good egg-drop soup as well.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
I am *so* trying this with ramen. For years I've been putting egg in it, and it always turned out curdley.
w00t!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Yes, ramen soup with egg drops is nummy.
I also beat my eggs with a bit of liquid (water or milk) -- not much, maybe a tablespoon with a couple eggs -- before adding to the soup.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Anyone ever have avgolemono soup? One of my top ten favorite foods, I think.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
I read it in an Asian food cookbook. I think I only made it once, but I seem to remember it working. That actually sounds pretty good. . . but I'd have to go shopping if I was gonna make it tonight, and I have leftovers to eat anyway.