Recipe of the Week: Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup
by Kelly Rossiter, Toronto on 04.14.06
Now that Spring is here, we were casting about looking for something lighter to cook for lunch than the winter fare we’ve been having. We came across Nina Simond’s discussion of the seasonal diet in her wonderful Asian cookbook A Spoonful of Ginger. She points out that the Chinese believe that certain foods correspond to each season. “The spring season signifies rebirth and renewal and it is traditionally a time for cleansing. Some Chinese doctors recommend a fast, consuming only fruit and vegetable juices.” She suggests a number of recipes that are appropriate for the spring season. We decided to give Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup a try. It took about fifteen minutes from start to finish and was about as easy as you could get.
Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup
- 1 ½ tsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium tomatoes, cored and cut into ¼ inch dice
- ½ scallions, white part only
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- ¾ cup sake or rice wine
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ pound snow peas, ends snapped and veiny strings removed
- 2 ½ tbsp corn starch mixed with 6 tbsp water
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tbsp water
1. Heat a heavy soup pot over high heat, add the oil, and heat until hot, about 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and scallions, and stir fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the soy sauce and sake and stir fry over high heat for 20 seconds. Add the water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 2 minutes. Add snow peas and stir.
2. Slowly add the corn starch mixture and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Once slightly thickened, remove from the heat and slowly add the beaten eggs, pouring them in a thin stream around the edge of the pot. Carefully stir once or twice so that the eggs form thin streamers. Taste for seasoning and ladle into serving bowls.
Serves 6.
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Oh, I'm excited about this! I used to love egg drop soup. I'll have to make this this weekend. It seems like it'll be much easier than the vegetarian pho I came up with. :D
I would think you will get numerous comments from vegetarians about using eggs and still calling it vegetarian.
don, actually, most vegetarians are ovo-lacto vegetarians.
Vegans are those that don't eat dairy and milk.
But this recipe could be made vegan by using egg replacement.
Aloha,
MGR, could you please clarify what egg replacer could be subsituted? I've been vegan for several years (after a decade of on-again-off-again vegetarianism) and have yet to find a suitable egg subsitute that would work in a soup like this. I don't miss eggs and am happy believing that my food choices support a healthy planet; however, an opportunity to make yummy "mock egg" soup would be appreciated. Thanks!
I don't know of any egg replacement you could substitute but this would still be a delicious soup made with soft tofu as the protein. Of course, Tofu Drop Soup doesn't have the same ring to it...
KR
AlohaE, I'll admit that I'm not quite sure what could be used in this soup. Most egg replacement I'm familiar with (and I'm only vaguely familiar with it in the first place) works well for cakes and such, but I'm not sure about soup... Maybe it would work well, maybe not.
Maybe someone who's a more experienced vegan cook than I am could help us figure this out.. Anyone?
ok i know i'm an idiot, but since when does using eggs which grow up to be chickens duh, qualify a recipe as vegetarian?
Chicken eggs, if not fertilized, won't grow up to be anything. They are basically just ovum, like the egg produced by human females during their periods.
What vegans have against eating chicken eggs, though, is how the egg-laying chicken are treated, and because the animals are slaughtered when they start being less productive.
Thanks MGR & all,
I was thinking the "skin" (ewww) of tofu might suffice for texture, but it wouldn't have the same flavor. Still, sounds good and is worth trying.
Speaking of food, check out www.thehungersite.com for an opportunity to fight hunger for FREE! It's way cool and easy.
Aloha, E =)
I'm a vegan, so I'm familiar with using the egg-replacement product. ...can't be done, folks...best to forget about eggs; we can live--and mighty fine--without them. :)