Cooking Project : Egg Drop Soup

Here we go, another cooking trial...egg drop soup or sometimes known as flower egg soup.  I first came to know ahout the existence of this fabulous soup during my college days.  I remember going to this little chinese shop in Chauncey Village, West Lafayette to get my fix of this soup, especially during the cold winters. In fact, I love this soup so much that I have tried cooking this a couple of times as a student. How about that eh?  None came close to the original taste, much to my dismay but they were good, nonetheless.

Egg drop soup is simply beaten eggs added to hot chicken broth, which consist of many different variations of ingredients but the one item which is a must is tofu, besides the eggs, of course.  The thin stream of beaten eggs added to the boiling soup should create a thin strand of cooked eggs.

.   So, ok...after many many years, I did another attempt at cooking this soup over the weekend.  My ingredients were tofu, egg, tomatoes (sliced into cubes) , cubed carrots and onion, some tiny chicken slices (for my soup base since I don't like using chicken broth cubes), coriander for garnishing & a few drops of pepper, salt and sesame oil for taste.  Simple enough right? 

All ingredients, with the exception of the eggs and coriander were brought to a boil.  Then I switched off the stove and added in the beaten egg, careful enough to slowly drop it in forkful by forkful. I have learnt from past experience not to pour the entire beaten egg in. 

Blurry side view of the soup

A less blurry top view of the soup

Verdict - Though edible, this is nowhere near the taste of the egg drop soup that I first came to know and liked years ago...not that I can vividly recall the taste after so many years but I'm pretty sure the original tasted (and looked) better than my current version.  For one, I overestimated the usage of salt and the beaten egg did not stream as well as it should.  The soup became a little too murky for my liking too.  Still, I finished the soup though. 

It is edible, people. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next project.  God knows I can't even follow the simplest of recipes.