Crab Drop Egg Soup.
Over the weekend, I came across Mala Tteokbokki at the Korean Supermarket.
[Mala is a spicy and numbing, Chinese seasoning made with Sichuan peppercorns]
The idea of Numbing Mala Sauce + Spicy Tteokbokki Sauce sounded like the perfect 1, 2 combination.
Sure enough, the Mala Tteokbokki was very spicy – making my endorphins run after the first few bites!
For the second try, I thought it would be better to quench that spice with a simple, crab drop egg soup...
Something similar to Chinese “Take-Out” Egg Drop Soup – but with more ingredients.
The Crab Drop Egg soup came out delicious – and I wanted to share the recipe with you!
Consider making it whenever you're eating something spicy!
It's very effective in soothing your stomach 😉
Cooking Notes for Crab Drop Egg Soup
Don’t be scared of using imitation crab (called “cremi - 크래미” in Korean or “surumi” in Japanese) – it tastes great.
Of course, the soup will taste better with the real thing – but the high cost of fresh crab may raise your expectation bit too much… heh!
Just work with cremi and split the pieces into thin strands.
Important Note: If you want your eggs to turn into silky strands (rather than curds), pour-in the the starch mixture into the broth, before adding the eggs.
(In our video, we did it differently. We added the starch mixture first, then added the egg mixture, which results in egg curdles.)
Some like it this way. Others like it the former way.
It’s a preference thing – choose the texture you like.
The key flavor ingredient for this soup is the concentrated chicken stock liquid.
This concentrated chicken stock liquid has a deep, salty flavor.
It’s easy to find a bottle of it here in Korea.
But if you can’t find it at your local market, feel free to use regular chicken stock broth (instead of mixing water + concentrated stock liquid).
Just remember to season the soup at the end with a few pinches of salt!
Bon Appetit ya’ll – and I hope you enjoy this simple, hearty soup.
Ingredients
- 200 grams Imitation Crab Meat (Cremi)
- ½ Onion
- 1 stalk Green Onion (For garnish)
- 3 Egg Whites
Starch Mixture
- 2 Tablespoons Starch Powder (Use Potato or Corn Starch)
- 6 Tablespoons Water
Simple Dashima Broth
- 4-5 Pieces Dashima (Kelp) Pieces (Roughly the size of your palm)
- 3.25 Cups of Water
- 2 Tablespoons of Concentrated Chicken Broth Liquid
Instructions
Prep Ingredients
- Place 3.25 cups of warm water into a mixing bowl. Drop in 4-5 pieces of dashima kelp pieces. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes. Move onto the next steps while you wait.
- Use your fingers and split the imitation crab sticks (300g) into thin strands. The thinner the better.
- Dice ½ a whole onion into thin slices.
Make Egg White Mixture
- Crack 3 eggs and separate the egg whites. Whisk the egg whites well.
Make Starch Water
- Mix Water (6 Tablespoons) with Starch Powder (2 Tablespoons). Set aside.
Build Soup
- After 30 minutes of soaking, place the dashima broth into a pot. Place pot on a medium-high heat and bring up to boil.
- Once the broth comes to boil, pick out the dashima pieces. Then add-in the Concentrated Liquid Chicken Stock (2 Tablespoons).
- [Note: You can use regular chicken stock broth (instead of making it with water + concentrate chicken stock liquid). If you'll use regular chicken stock broth, measure 3.25 cups of it and bring it to boil. Then proceed as shown below]
- Next, add in the imitation crabs strips, followed by the onions strips - give it a stir. Let it come back up to a boil.
- Once its boiling, give your starch mixture a quick stir, then pour it into the broth in a circular motion.
- Next, stir the egg whites one more time, then pour in a circular motion into the pot. Once the egg is added, don't stir it around! Just let it boil for 1-2 minutes.
- Finish, by adding ½ Tablespoon of Sesame Oil! (This is a key ingredient for a balanced flavor - don't skip it).
- Garnish the soup with a handful of green onions. Give it a final stir - turn off heat.
- Give it a final taste - feel free to add in a few pinches of salt (especially if you made it with regular chicken stock broth).
- Bon Appetit!
If you end up making it, tag us on IG with a pic of your dish – we love flipping through your pictures in the morning.
(P.s. If you’re cooking alone, don’t get bored. Consider listening to our latest podcast episode while you cook!)
Taryn Ross says
Hi,
If I wanted to add corn to this dish, using the version of silky egg whites; which type of corn would you recommend and how much? Rather, creamed, sweet kernels, or fresh!!! Thank you so much!!! Can’t wait to make this!!
Sam says
Simple and very filling