Spinach Egg Drop Soup
When I was a kid, I often saw my mother hunched over the kitchen cutting board, intensely chopping something non-stop.
This oft-seen image instantly led me to guess what was on the dinner menu - we must be having piiman (Japanese
green pepper) tonight! My mother was working it into the finest-possible pieces, as if to make "piiman grain"
out of it.
Soon I'd find my brother skillfully picking up those "grains" one by one and jailing them on the edge of his plate to
evade them entirely, mumbling things like "I can always spot it..." And no matter what strategy Mom tried with green
pepper, from packing it into meatballs to mixing it with similarly colored veggies, he would win. Witnessing this table
drama, I only became more convinced that with his dexterity he could win Rubik's cube competitions or the highest-ranked
certificate in the abacus - both of which, in fact, he did.
The recipe I'm introducing today, spinach egg drop soup, reminds me of those episodes involving a least-favorite
vegetable, that everyone seems to have had as a child. In my case, I never liked spinach; couldn't stand how it somehow
tasted like dirt. Nonetheless, much to my irritation, spinach was one of those foods that anyone from mothers to school
nutritionists recommends for its high nutritional value. Thus it often landed in my mother's shopping basket.
While weary of adults' blind respect toward the vegetable, I wasn't as dexterous or determined as my brother. I would
just compromise and eat the spinach - but on one condition: it must be boiled and softened in soup. Served this way,
I could accept and somehow enjoy it, especially when the soup was mild flavored and full of soft and fluffy chunks of
egg.
Something to note in this recipe is to not overcook the spinach so that it gets too wilted. That way you keep some of
spinach's leaf and stem texture. Also, when you run the eggs down into the soup, make sure the heat is high so that they
solidify quickly. To give a smooth texture to the soup, I add katakuri-ko (potato starch), commonly used in the
Japanese cooking as a thickening powder for soups and sauces. If it's not available, try substituting cornstarch... or
simply skip it.
By the way, spinach is no longer my enemy. In fact, today I eat it at least a couple of times a week in salads,
curries, omelets, lasagna...you name it. I can't remember exactly when I conquered (what I then considered) its evil
taste, but I do remember this soup was definitely a lifesaver in my childhood as a diner.
Written by Ayako Akeura
A TranNet member and freelance writer/translator based in New York City
♦ INGREDIENTS
(3 servings)
T = tablespoon
t = teaspoon
c = cup
g = gram
3 c chicken broth*
100 spinach
2 egg
1 t salt
1 t katakuri-ko (potato starch)* dissolved in 1 t of water
1/2 c corn (canned or fresh)
pepper
* Homemade, pre-packaged stock, or cube soup-base dissolved in water
* Katakuri-ko can be found at Asian markets.
♦ How to make Spinach Egg Drop Soup
1. Rinse and drain spinach in water. Cut both stems and leaves into bite-size pieces. Beat eggs in a bowl.
2. Bring 3 cups of chicken broth to boil. Then toss in corn, and next spinach (stems first, then leaves).
Over medium heat, stir for a few minutes.
3. Pour in potato starch to add a thicker texture to the soup; make sure the starch is well dissolved in water
before pouring. Season with salt and pepper and stir until the vegetables are cooked (but not wilted).
4. Over high heat again, hold chopsticks vertically in the pot; let beaten egg run slowly and gently along chopsticks
into the pot. While pouring the eggs, rotate the chopsticks around the pot. (It’s easier using longer, cooking
chopsticks such as saibashi, if available.) The eggs will cook quickly and come up to the surface in clumps;
gently break them up and stir. Simmer for a couple of minutes and season with more salt and pepper, if needed.
Serve while hot.
|
CHECK THE NEWSLETTER
