Try this Egg Drop Soup with Zoodles recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 6 c. chicken broth
- 6 scallions
- big chunk of fresh ginger (about 3 inches) peeled, chopped
- 8 oz. shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced into noodles
- 1-2 tsp. soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp. rice vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- sesame oil for garnish
- chopped cilantro for garnish
- Carbohydrate 6.606 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.171 g
- Fiber 2.33999991416931 g
- Protein 1.647 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0288 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (90g)
- Sodium 14.4 mg
- Sugar 4.26600008583069 g
- Trans Fat 0.0513 g
- Calories 29 calories
Step-by-step
- With the back of a knife or mallet, smash 3 scallions and cut into about 3 pieces each. Slice the remaining 3 scallions and set aside.
- In soup pot combine chicken broth, smashed scallions and ginger. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes for flavors to combine.
- Strain or remove scallions and ginger from broth.
- Lightly beat eggs in bowl, pour them into the broth in a slow stream while stirring with spoon to create the egg "ribbons".
- Add soy sauce, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes. You could probably add them while the broth is simmering, I just added it afterwards. Also, taste the broth and adjust seasonings if you need to. If your chicken broth is a little bland you will probably want to add more seasoning.
- Add shiitake mushrooms and let it simmer a few minutes to soften them, then add zucchini noodles, reserved sliced scallions and simmer a minute more.
- Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of sesame oil and chopped cilantro.
Silken ribbons of egg float suspended in a clear, highly aromatic broth alongside tender tendrils of zucchini and earthy shiitake mushrooms. Achieving this texture requires specific equipment handling rather than complicated techniques. A heavy-bottomed soup pot ensures even heat distribution during the fifteen-minute simmer, preventing scorching of the aromatics. Smash the scallions and ginger with a flat mallet rather than dicing them. Crushing ruptures the plant cells, releasing allicin and gingerol compounds into the liquid rapidly. Straining this mixture removes fibrous debris before the protein stage.
Pouring beaten eggs into simmering liquid demands a slow, steady stream while the broth is in motion. Stirning the pot continuously creates centrifugal force, which stretches the egg proteins into thin ribbons instantly upon contact with the hot water. If the broth remains completely still, the eggs will coagulate into large, rubbery curds instead of delicate strands. Keep the heat at a gentle simmer during this addition. Vigorous boiling breaks the ribbons apart into cloudy fragments.
Shiitake mushrooms contain lentinan and structural polysaccharides that require direct heat to soften properly. Simmer them for three full minutes after seasoning the broth with soy sauce, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Zucchini noodles possess high water content and cook almost instantaneously. Submerge the zoodles for precisely sixty seconds at the very end of the cooking process. Leaving zucchini in hot liquid longer than one minute causes cellular collapse, releasing excess water that dilutes the seasoned broth.
Many cooks ruin this preparation by adding eggs to boiling liquid or overcooking the zucchini. Rapid boiling toughens the egg proteins while destroying the structural integrity of the zoodles. Maintain a low simmer throughout the final assembly stages. Finish each portion with fresh cilantro and toasted sesame oil immediately before serving. Sesame oil contains volatile aromatic compounds that dissipate quickly when exposed to prolonged heat.
