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Corn and Egg Drop Soup

Name: Corn and Egg Drop Soup
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Ingredients: 1-2 (1 lb/450 gram) skinless boneless chicken breast; 2 fresh corns, separate the cobs from the kernels; 1 onion, peeled and quartered; 6 cups water/chicken stock; 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1 teaspoon ground pepper; 2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine/XO Cognac/brandy; 4 tablespoon cornstarch + 4 tablespoon water; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 2 scallions, thinly sliced; sesame oil

Last updated: Jun 10, 2020 — Published: Dec 11, 2013 — By: Anita — 21 comments

The very best Chinese corn and egg drop soup with fresh corns, chicken breast, and eggs. Use Shaoxing wine, or for special occasions, go with XO Cognac or brandy.

Every year when fresh corns start showing up at the market, the very first dish I make is definitely this corn and egg drop soup. Once you learn how to make this soup with fresh corns, you will never want to make this with canned or frozen corns ever again.

Corn and egg drop soup is one of Chinese cuisine classic soups, and this soup is special to me since I grow up seeing this served on special occasions, especially on Chinese New Year dinners and birthdays.

If you love Chinese dishes, this soup is a great soup for everyone. The recipe only needs very basic ingredients, and the cooking process is also very easy.

Ingredients for corn and egg drop soup

You will need fresh corns, chicken breast, eggs, onion, scallions, Shaoxing wine, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.

Prepare fresh corns

We want to use fresh corns since we want to use both the cobs and the kernels separately.

To separate corn kernels, place a small bowl/ramekin upside down inside a large mixing bowl, stand one corn and use a sharp knife to scrape off the kernels, the kernels will fall into the mixing bowl without making a mess.

Shaoxing wine substitute

If you don’t have Shaoxing wine, you can substitute with Cognac or brandy. In fact, my Grandma only used XO Cognac in her corn and egg drop soup, especially when she served the soup for Chinese New Year dinners.

Optional ingredients

The listed ingredients are the minimum that is needed to create this delicious soup. But if you have them in your kitchen, you can add one 6-ounce can crab meat, and about 1/2 lb of fresh asparagus.

(1) Boil onion, chicken breast, and corn cobs. (2) Discard corn cobs from soup and shred chicken breast. (3) Add fresh corn kernels and shredded chicken breast into the soup pot. Season with salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until corn kernels are cooked. (4) Add Shaoxing wine. Thicken the soup with cornstarch slurry. Stir in beaten eggs. Garnish the soup with scallions and sesame oil.

How to cook corn and egg drop soup.

Place chicken breast, corn cobs, onions, and water/chicken stock in a soup pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Discard corn cobs. Shred chicken breast and return them to the pot. Add corn kernels, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add Shaoxing wine/XO Cognac/brandy and adjust seasoning if necessary. Pour the corn starch solution to thicken the soup. Turn off heat.

Pour the eggs into the soup in a steady stream, and quickly stir in a clockwise direction until thin shreds are formed.

Serve with thinly sliced scallions and several drops of sesame oil per serving.

Ladle corn and egg drop soup into individual soup bowls. Add more scallions and sesame oil as needed.

Can I use canned or frozen corns?

Though it is not ideal and you can taste the difference if you make two batches and compare side by side, you can still prepare this soup even with canned or frozen corns.

Instead of two fresh corns, you will need 1 1⁄2 cup of corn kernels, either from canned corns or frozen corns. There is no need to thaw frozen corns before using.

If you are using canned or frozen corns, you MUST use chicken stock. You can only get away with using water if you use fresh corns.