A comforting velvety soup with shredded chicken, creamed and whole sweetcorn and ribbons of egg. Ready in twenty-five minutes and made entirely from store-cupboard basics.
Prep
10 mins
Cook
15 mins
Servings
4
Per serving
£1.03
Difficulty
easy
The texture is the whole point: a cornflour-thickened broth thick enough to hold the egg ribbons in suspension. Pour the egg in a slow stream over the back of a spoon and you get silk rather than scramble.
Put the chicken breast, stock and ginger coins into a saucepan. Bring to a bare simmer and poach gently for 12 minutes, skimming any foam.
Lift the chicken out onto a board and fish out the ginger. Shred the chicken with two forks and return it to the pan.
Shredding rather than dicing gives the soup its proper texture.
Stir in both tins of sweetcorn and the tamari, and bring back to a simmer.
Stir the cornflour slurry and pour it in slowly, stirring constantly. Simmer for 2 minutes until the soup thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Turn the heat down so the soup is barely moving. Pour the beaten egg in a thin stream from a height, drawing a chopstick through the surface once or twice to form ribbons. Leave undisturbed for 30 seconds.
Stirring vigorously at this stage turns the egg cloudy instead of silky.
Season with white pepper and a little salt if needed, stir through the sesame oil and ladle into bowls with the spring onions on top.