We do love egg drop soup but, recently, I discovered that there are other ways to enjoy eggs in soup. There’s an IG account I follow, I adore the reels but I skipped reading the posted comments after one attempt.
The guy who creates the reels is Chinese and, obviously, English is not his first language. Commenters who are obviously native English speakers make fun of him and they write rude things about his choice of ingredients. That’s social media for you — an arena where fools far outnumber talented content creators.
What amuses me endlessly is that the Chinese cook must be laughing his way to the bank. He has over two million followers on IG (there is a link at the end of the recipe because I do give credit where it is due), a million followers on Tiktok, 141,000 followers on Facebook and 820,000 subscribers on Youtube. All that translate to a lot of money. Meanwhile, many of his detractors on IG have zero to something like sixty followers. Pathetic.
So, it’s from this Chinese guy’s IG account where I learned to make soup with omelette torn into chunks and simmered in broth. But that’s just one component of the soup. Let me describe the ingredients and the cooking process one at a time.
Start by pressing a cake of tofu between stacks of paper towels to remove excess water. Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes and lightly fry to give them a good texture. Frying also lessens the chance that the tofu cubes will crumble when boiled in broth. Scoop out the tofu and set aside but keep the oil hot.
Whisk five to six eggs with a little turmeric and a few pinches of chili flakes then pour into the hot oil. Cook over high heat until the underside is browned and the edges are fluffy. Then flip the omelette to brown the other side. Scoop out and transfer to a plate.
Pour off the oil from the pan and pour in your broth. Take the fried tofu cubes and add to the broth. You want the tofu to start soaking up the flavors of the broth (tofu is bland by itself) so there is no need to wait for the broth to boil before dropping in those tofu cubes.
While waiting for the broth to come to a boil, break the omelette into chunks and stir into the broth. When the broth boils, lower the heat and simmer for five minutes. During this time, both the tofu and eggs will absorb the saltiness of the broth.
Because bok choy stalks take longer to cook than the leaves, drop them in first. Taste the broth and season. Start with a tablespoon of soy sauce and a tablespoon of fish sauce. You can always add more later, if needed, so don’t overdo it at this point.
When the bok choy stalks are soft, drop in the leaves along with a handful of goji berries. The goji berries add a lovely subtle sweetness to the broth. Simmer the soup for a few more minutes. Taste the broth once more, add more soy sauce or fish sauce or both, then serve the soup at once.
Tofu, egg and bok choy soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 150 grams semi-soft tofu cut into one-inch cubes
- 5 to 6 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric optional
- 2 pinches chili flakes optional
- 6 cups chicken bone broth
- 2 bunches boy choy stalks and leaves separated then cut into two-inch lengths
- soy sauce
- fish sauce
- ¼ cup goji berries (wolfberries)
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a pot and fry the tobu cubes just until a light crust forms on the surface. Scoop out and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs with the turmeric and chili flakes, and pour into the hot oil.
- Cook the eggs over high heat until the edges are fluffy and firm then flip to cook and brown the opposite side.
- Scoop out the omelette and set aside.
- Pour off any remaining oil in the pan.
- Pour the broth into the pan and add the fried tofu cubes.
- Tear the omelette into chunks and add to the broth.
- Simmer the tofu and eggs for five minutes.
- Drop in the bok choy stalks.
- Drizzle in a tablespoon of soy sauce and a tablespoon of fish sauce
- Simmer until the bok choy stalks are tender then stir in the bok choy leaves and goji berries.
- Cook the soup for another few minutes until the leaves are wilted.
- Taste the broth one last time, add more soy sauce or fish sauce, of both, and serve immediately.
