027 / 75 · Soups, beans and broths
Chicken, Sweetcorn and Egg-Ribbon Soup
2 soup bowls, each containing half the chicken, corn and egg ribbons · Active 15 min · Cook 13 min · Total 30 min
Print recipe · PDFA little beaten egg changes the texture of a simple chicken broth. Add it in thin streams while the hot liquid is moving, then return the bowl to the microwave for the complete egg cook. Ready-to-eat chicken and canned sweetcorn keep the preparation manageable, and a small starch slurry supports the delicate strands. Serve this one as soon as it is finished.
Make the slurry while the broth heats
Cornstarch must be mixed with cold water before it meets the hot bowl. Stir the slurry again just before adding it, because it settles quickly. The broth should bubble after the starch goes in; do not judge it finished merely because it looks cloudy. This stage happens before the egg, so there is no need to break up the soft strands with vigorous whisking later.
A thin stream makes finer strands
Beat the whole egg thoroughly so there are no intact yolk pockets. Pour half in a very thin stream while stirring the hot broth gently in one direction, heat, then repeat with the rest. The result is irregular soft ribbons and small curds rather than a perfect restaurant pattern. Their full temperature and covered stand matter more than their appearance.
Ingredients
- 150 g (5⅓ oz) commercially ready-to-eat fully cooked plain chicken, refrigerated until use, cut into 1 cm/⅜ in pieces; not raw or partly cooked chicken
- 140 g (5 oz) canned ready-to-eat sweetcorn, drained
- 500 ml (about 2 US cups plus 2 tbsp) ready-to-use lower-sodium chicken stock
- 5 g peeled fresh ginger (about 2 tsp finely grated)
- 10 ml lower-sodium soy sauce (2 tsp)
- 8 g cornstarch (about 1 tbsp), not cornmeal
- 30 ml cold water (2 tbsp), for the cornstarch
- 1 large egg, 50 g/1¾ oz without shell, fully beaten
- 10 g scallion (about 2 tbsp thinly sliced), washed and sliced, white and green parts used
- 5 ml rice vinegar (1 tsp)
Set out
1000 W microwave with turntable, Kitchen scale and measuring jug, Knife and board, Spoon, Oven mitts, Two serving bowls, Microwave-safe bowl, at least 2.5 L/about 2⅔ US qt measured capacity, about 21 cm/8¼ in inside diameter and 10 cm/4 in deep, Microwave-safe vented cover, Two small bowls, Fork or small whisk, Can opener and sieve, Food thermometer, Fine grater for ginger
Allergens
Egg, Soy, Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Put the stock, ginger and sliced scallion in the 2.5 L bowl. Cover with the vent open. Microwave at 1000 W full power for 4–5 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes, until visibly bubbling. Meanwhile mix the cornstarch with all 30 ml cold water in one small bowl, and fully beat the egg in the other.
- Add the chilled ready-to-eat chicken, drained canned corn and soy sauce to the broth. Stir, cover with a vent and heat at full power for 3–4 minutes, stirring halfway, until thoroughly hot. Stir the cold slurry again, pour it into the broth and mix well. Cover with a vent and heat at full power for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until the broth bubbles and lightly thickens.
- With the hot bowl on a stable surface, stir the broth gently in one direction and pour in half the beaten egg in a thin stream. Cover with a vent and heat at 70% power for 45 seconds. Repeat with the remaining egg and heat for another 45 seconds. Scrape all the beaten egg from its bowl into the soup. Stir gently and continue in 20–30-second bursts if needed until there is no liquid egg and all parts of the soup reach 165°F/74°C.
- Cover with the vent open and stand for 2 minutes. Stir gently and recheck several places for at least 165°F/74°C, including chicken pieces near the center. If any spot is cooler, use another short burst and repeat the covered stand and check. Stir in the rice vinegar and divide all the soup equally between two bowls. Eat immediately.
Corn is already cooked
Use commercially canned ready-to-eat corn. Thawed frozen corn is not the same ingredient; a frozen product would need its full separate package cooking process.
Finish this bowl in one session
Once the raw egg enters, finish its cooking and covered stand immediately. Do not pause to refrigerate a partly cooked batch.
Ingredient labels
Standard soy sauce contains soy and usually wheat. Chicken stock or ready-to-eat chicken can have additional allergens; check labels. The tofu variation also contains soy.
A useful detail
The 30-minute plan allows 8 minutes of preparation, about 13 minutes of sequential microwave heating, the mandatory 2-minute covered egg stand and 7 minutes for slurry, egg pouring, checks and serving. The listed heat is rounded up from the starting ranges; extra endpoint bursts can extend it. This uses a 1000 W oven and the microwave-specific egg endpoint of 165°F/74°C, not appearance alone.
Another way
- Replace the chicken with 150 g/5⅓ oz plain ready-to-eat firm tofu in 1 cm/⅜ in cubes and use vegetable stock. Soy is already present in the sauce; follow the same 165°F/74°C egg endpoint and 2-minute stand.
- Use 5 ml/1 tsp lemon juice instead of rice vinegar at the end. Do not increase the acid enough to turn the egg broth sharply sour.
Keep it well
Make only the amount you will eat now. The ready-to-eat chicken is heated in this recipe; do not cool the assembled soup for another reheating cycle. Keep any unused, unmixed chicken, corn and stock refrigerated at 40°F/4°C or below under their original opening/use-by deadlines. Discard served soup left out beyond 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Do not store partly cooked egg soup.