I have been on a Chinese food bender the past three days. Egg drop soup and pot stickers, yep, they've been on the brain. It doesn't hurt that I have a shiny new Chinese cookbook to help me satisfy my cravings.
But I couldn't simply follow the recipe, oh no. You see, my cooking method goes a little like this: "Was that 2 tablespoons or 3 tablespoons of cornstarch? Three sounds good." *pours out three tablespoons, adds water, looks at book* "Oh, two tablespoons. Oh well, three should be fine. It will just make the soup a little thicker!" And by Jove, that's all it did.
My baking methods are a bit more by the (cook)book, although I have to admit that I haven't met a recipe for bread to which I didn't add at least a little extra flour. 8 to 9 cups? My foot. Try 9 1/2 to 10. That said, I will do my best to give you actual measurements to go by since I know that not everyone is interested in eying it up and hoping for the best. Truth be told, the first time I made the egg drop soup I did use only 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and it worked out just fine. On the other hand, using 3 tablespoons the next day only thickened the soup, which is how I like it, so I intend to leave it that way.
As for the eggs, get a load of these:
This is what you get when your sister raises chickens. Yes, in the backyard. No, I still don't want to talk about my fear of birds. Just take your egg drop soup recipe and enjoy, got it?
I'm calling this "3 ways" because of the vegetables that are optional to add. Trust me, adding tomatoes or corn or leaving them out entirely definitely gives each iteration of this soup a different taste and texture. The original recipe called for tomatoes, which I tried and didn't really like (tragedy, really, since tomatoes are pretty much my favorite food EVER), so I tried corn, which I had had at a restaurant and enjoyed, and then no vegetables at all, which is how I usually see it. I won't stop you from using tomatoes, but I really do suggest that you use corn or just leave the vegetables out instead.
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
2 cups chicken stock (2 bouillon cubes in 2 cups of water will suffice)
1 cup water
1 tomato, diced or 1 cup corn (optional)
A dash pepper
Salt to taste
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Stir cornstarch and 4 tablespoons water in a small bowl. Set aside. Bring chicken stock and 1 cup water to a boil with the lid of the pot on. Add tomato or corn plus pepper and salt. Add the cornstarch mixture. Heat through, then turn off the heat. Bringing the soup to a boil again accidentally won't hurt anything, but you definitely want to make sure that the broth is hot so that the eggs will cook thoroughly. If your soup has boiled, wait for it to stop bubbling before adding the eggs. Immediately upon adding the eggs, stir three times, then cover and let sit for 2 minutes. Serve.
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