The brininess of seaweed and light crunch of wood ears turn a simple egg drop soup into a symphony of flavors and textures.
Cook’s notes
The two ingredients that bring this soup to life are wood ears and wakame. Although they can both be bought fresh, we use dried most of the time because they are easier to store. We buy both in bulk to save us the trouble of driving to the grocery every time we need them.
Dried wood ears can be bought whole, trimmed or untrimmed, or sliced. Whether whole or sliced, they need to be soaked in hot water until softened.
Wakame is a seaweed and you’ll find it in dried form Japanese groceries. It comes in long strands which you need to cut with kitchen shears to separate the amount that you need to make the soup. Like dried wood ears, wakame needs to be rehydrated. Once softened, it can be cut into small pieces.
For a meatless soup, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth.
How much salt and pepper you will need depends on how well seasoned the broth is.
Wakame is a seaweed and you’ll find it in dried form Japanese groceries. It comes in long strands which you need to cut with kitchen shears to separate the amount that you need to make the soup. Like dried wood ears, wakame needs to be rehydrated. Once softened, it can be cut into small pieces.
For a meatless soup, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth.
How much salt and pepper you will need depends on how well seasoned the broth is. Chicken and wakame egg drop soup
Ingredients
- 10 grams dried shredded wood ears (0.3 oz)
- 10 grams dried wakame (0.3 oz)
- 4 chicken thigh fillets minced
- 6 to 8 cups chicken bone broth
- salt
- pepper
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
Instructions
- Soak the wood ears and wakame in hot water for ten minutes or until fully hydrated.
- Squeeze the wakame (do not discard the soaking water) and thinly slice.
- Heat the chicken bone broth in a pot and bring to the boil.
- Strain the wood ears (again, save the soaking water) and drop into the broth.
- Stir the minced chicken thigh fillets into the broth.
- Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for five minutes.
- Taste the broth. Add salt and pepper, as needed.
- Disperse the cornstarch in the soaking water of the wood ears and wakame, and stir into the pot.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth is clear and slightly thickened.
- Stir in the wakame.
- Turn off the heat, pour in the eggs and stir.
- Taste the broth one last time, and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
- Sprinkle in sliced scallions before serving your chicken and wakame egg drop soup.
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