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Chinese-style chicken and sweetcorn soup is easier to make than you might think. Little chunks of chicken are cooked with sweetcorn and stock, plus couple of little flavour enhancers – like white pepper and sesame oil. It’s all finished off with that classic fluffy egg, feathered into the broth. Utterly scrumptious and ready in 20 minutes!
“This recipe is awesome! I’ve had chicken & sweetcorn soup in a few good restaurants but this recipe is as good if not better than these.”
Nicky’s Notes
Have you ever made egg drop soup? It’s also sometimes called egg flower soup – due to the way the egg feathers and ‘flowers’ out as it’s stirred into the hot liquid.
This egg drop soup also contains little chunks to chicken – to turn it into that restaurant favourite – chicken & sweetcorn soup.
It’s simple to make, tasty and pretty economical. You can serve it as a starter, or as part of a few Chinese-style dishes for a buffet.
If I’m serving it for dinner, I also like to serve alongside some fried rice or maybe some sesame prawn toast to make it filling enough for my always-hungry kids.
Table of Contents
📋 What do we need?
- Chicken breast – we only need one small chicken breast for four servings of this soup – the chicken is chopped into small pieces. You can replace with 2-3 chicken thighs if you prefer.
- Chicken stock (chicken broth) you can use homemade chicken stock or stock made with stock cubes.
- Sesame oil – this adds a lovely very slightly nutty flavour and aroma to the soup.
- Sweetcorn – I use tinned corn kernels and I mush them up a little, so we get some creamy-corn-paste and some whole kernels, but you can replace with creamed corn if you prefer (creamed corn isn’t readily available in the UK).
- Cornflour to make a cornflour slurry (corn starch slurry)- to thicken the soup.
- Eggs – these are whisked and added to the soup to make those lovely ribbons in the soup.
- Garlic, salt and white pepper for flavour – I use white pepper to give a tiny touch of warmth to the flavour.
Pro Tip
- Pour the egg mixture into the broth in a thin stream, whilst stirring the soup – this will ensure you get that lovely fluffy finish to the egg.
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Pin It🍽️ What to serve it with
Why not serve as part of a Chinese banquet or buffet with some other Chinese-inspired dishes such as:
- Crispy Prawn Toast
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Coconut Shrimp
- Easy Crispy Duck
- Baked Asian-style Cauliflower ‘Wings’
I love to top with lots of sliced spring onions before serving.
📺 Watch how to make it
Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 litre (4 cups + 3 tbsp) good quality chicken stock
- 1 small chicken breast approx. 150g/5.3oz, chopped into small chunks (approx.1cm cubed)
- 200 g (7 oz) tin sweetcorn drained
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- 2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch for US) mixed with 6 tbsp water,
- 2 medium eggs whisked
- ¼ tsp salt
To Serve:
- 2 spring onions scallions chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low-medium heat.1 tbsp sesame oil
- Add the garlic and cook gently, whilst stirring, for 1 minute.2 cloves garlic
- Add the chicken stock and diced chicken, turn up the heat and bring to the boil.1 litre (4 cups + 3 tbsp) good quality chicken stock, 1 small chicken breast
- Simmer for 5 minutes
- Give the sweetcorn a bit of a mush with the end of a rolling pin, so that it’s a bit mushed up, but around half the sweetcorn kernels are still whole.200 g (7 oz) tin sweetcorn
- Add the sweetcorn to the pan along with the white pepper and mix together.1/8 tsp white pepper
- Bring back to the boil and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Slow stir in the cornflour slurry to thicken the soup slightly.2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch for US)
- Whilst slowly stirring, add the whisked egg in a thin stream. It should feather out in the liquid as it cooks.2 medium eggs
- Have a taste of the soup and add in the salt if needed (it depends on the saltiness of your stock).¼ tsp salt
- Divide between bowls and garnish with chopped spring onions before serving.2 spring onions
Video
Notes
Make ahead
This soup can be made ahead. Simply make the soup, then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to three days. Reheat in a pan, or microwave, stirring often, until piping hot throughout.Make it vegetarian
Replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock and replace the chicken with tofu pieces or vegetarian chicken-style chunks.Scaling the recipe up or down
You can double or halve the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios. If doubling, it will take a few minutes longer cooking time.Halving the recipe will still be the same cooking time.
Can I use cooked chicken?
Yes, you can use cooked, leftover shredded chicken. Simply add the chicken in with the sweetcorn (no need to simmer the stock for 5 minutes in the previous step).Ingredient additions:
- Add extra vegetables – peas, mushrooms, sliced mange tout and little pieces of broccoli all taste great – add them in with the sweetcorn.
- Small chunks of potato or carrots also work well. You can add them with the chicken pieces and stock, but cook for an additional 5 minutes before adding the sweetcorn.
- Add hot sauce, chilli flakes or minced ginger for a hint of heat.
- Soy sauce for a bit of extra umami flavour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe is a family favourite. The white pepper gives a subtle kick to the broth and I’ve mastered making the egg mix ribbon like.
I like to put some ginger in as well. It really warms the soup up.
Great authentic taste and texture
Perfect recipe this soup is so delicious and easy to make. I now make it regularly 😊
This recipe is awesome! I’ve had chicken & sweetcorn soup in a few good restaurants but this recipe is as good if not better than these.
Thank you for your lovely, easy to follow recipes. My New Year’s Eve meal for 8 is depending on you 😃.