Homemade Egg Drop Soup with Sweet Corn

Happy Chinese New Year!  

Being a second generation in a Chinese-American family, Chinese New year is a time I most vividly remember spending with my family going to our favorite family owned restaurant in Albany, NY.  We ordered family style and used the lazy susan on the table to "pass" our food around and share.  

This year I had plans to be in NYC for Chinese New Year and was looking forward to spending time celebrating with friends and family in NY.  But of course, it is winter and nor'easter Nemo came and quickly demolished those plans.  Looks like I will have to plan a trip this Spring to NYC for some good Chinese food, bagels, pizza and many many visits with friends/family!

With a free weekend in Greenville, I took this extra time to complete my first test in graduate school!  My midterm for BU's American Health System course was online and it feels SO good to have it completed :-) I'm now more than halfway through the class!

On Saturday, Trevor and I celebrated New Year's Eve at Lieu's Chinese Bistro on Woodruff Rd. in Greenville.  It wasn't exactly dim sum in Chinatown, but it was very good.  We ordered the Happy Family (minus the scallops, Trevor's request after the Xmas incident...), egg flower and sweet and sour soup, spring rolls, and the spicy cabbage.  It was all wonderful and we would recommend all of these dishes, though the spicy cabbage was even too spicy for Trevor!  If you chose to order a spicy dish at Lieu's, we recommend trying it mild first. ;-)

On Sunday, for New Year's dinner we made Trevor's mother's famous Chicken Almond recipe and egg drop soup.  It was a perfect New Years dinner and a great end to a long weekend!  Check out the egg drop soup recipe below, adapted from  Food Network.  This soup has a wonderful consistency to it and we sweetened it up a bit by adding some corn, I always love the little crunch and sweetness the corn adds!

Egg Drop Soup with Sweet Corn

Homemade Egg Drop Soup with Sweet Corn

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 cups low sodium chicken stock, plus 2 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1/2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup frozen yellow corn

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 green onions, chopped for garnish

White pepper to taste

Directions

1.  In a large pot on high heat, bring the low sodium chicken stock, soy sauce, ginger and frozen corn to a boil.  

2.  In a small dish, combine the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of chicken stock.  Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved.  

3.  Slowly pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup while constantly stirring.  Continue to stir until thickened.  

4.  Reduce heat to a low simmer.

5.  Add the beaten eggs slowly while stirring the soup in the same direction.  Egg will spread and feather.

6.  Turn off heat and season with white pepper to taste (be careful, it is spicy!)

7.  Serve a 1 cup serving in each bowl and garnish with green onion.  Enjoy!

Nutrition for 1 serving: 90 Calories, 2.5g Total fat, 0.7g Saturated fat, 180mg Sodium, 11g Total Carbohydrate, 1.2g Fiber, 6g Protein

Chicken Almond source: Susie Jones.

What is your favorite Chinese dish?  Tell us below!