Crab and Corn – Egg Drop Soup

It’s a week of celebrations, so I’m making Crab and Corn – Egg Drop Soup. We’re eagerly awaiting the Lunar New Year of the Ox, Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, in the coming days. As in the previous years, these nearly simultaneous events are meaningful to Filipinos.

Filipinos are superstitious, so we cook a lot of Chinese-style foods to ring in prosperity and good fortune for the Lunar New Year. Filipinos are passionate and love to celebrate Valentine’s. In fact, pre-pandemic, I’ve seen how the day of hearts is celebrated in the Philippines, with the same intensity as Christmas. Filipino culture is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith, so the start of Lent is observed and many go meatless for the next 40 days.

This Crab and Corn soup was a superb starter to our stay-home meal for these events. We’ve enjoyed restaurant-style crab and corn soup in Chinese eateries before. So, I decided to cook my Filipino-flavored version. The main ingredient is crab meat. I used canned claw crab meat, which is very good and is less pricey. This is also convenient to use if you can’t go to the seafood market, which happened to me this week, during the brutal winter snow storm on the east coast.

It only took a few minutes to cook this. The piping-hot, savory soup broth had creamy corn swirling around the flaked crab meat. And the streams of egg floating made the soup so appealing. We savored cup after cup of this wholesomeness. Even if we’re all staying home, we can always find a reason to celebrate the good things: a New Year to look forward to, love, faith and a hearty bowl of this perfect Crab and Corn Egg Drop Soup.

Print Recipe

Crab and Corn - Egg Drop Soup

Crab and Corn - Egg Drop Soup is a favorite Filipino fare, which is a savory, thick soup cooked with crab claw meat, cream-style corn in homemade soup stock. I thickened the soup with cornstarch and dropped a beaten egg at the end for a superb starter to any meal. It's fast and easy to make. This is an Asian in America recipe by Elizabeth Ann Quirino. Serves 2 to 4 for a soup, appetizer or side.

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Soup

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Filipino

Keyword: Crab and Corn Egg Drop Soup

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 114kcal

Author: Asian in America - Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Equipment

• Large Stock Pot

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 whole medium-sized white onion, chopped
• 2 stalks scallions, chopped, white for saute, greens for garnish
• 8 ounces canned claw crab meat,
• 1 teaspoon calamansi or lemon juice
• 8 cups soup stock or broth (vegetable, chicken or pork)
• 1 can (14.25 ounces) cream-style corn
• ⅛ teapoon sesame oil
• 1 pinch salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 whole large egg
• 1 Tablespoon water, to mix with egg
• 1 cup baby spinach
• ½ cup thinly-sliced carrots

Instructions

• In a stockpot, over medium heat, add the butter.

  When butter is melted, saute the onions and scallion whites.
• Add the crab meat. Sprinkle calamansi or lemon juice on the crab meat.

  Stir to combine with the rest of the ingredients.
• Pour the soup stock or broth and the cream-style corn.

  Stir and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors blend.

  Season with sesame oil, salt and black pepper.
• Separately, in a small bowl, combine the corn starch and 1/4 cup water. Mix well till there are no more lumps.
• Pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup that is simmering. Keep stirring as you pour.

  When the soup heats up and starts to boil, the liquid thickens. Continue stirring so soup doesn't stick to the bottom. Lower heat.
• In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.

  Pour this egg mixture in a stream over the simmering soup. Keep stirring so that the egg forms lines that look like little ribbons in the soup.
• Add the baby spinach and sliced carrots.

  Garnish with scallion greens. Serve piping hot.

Cook's Comments:

• I often make my own soup stock from leftover chicken rotisserie or roast chicken dinners. I've also made soup stock with ham bone combined with chicken. Here is a previous recipe for soup stock - click here.

  If you can't make soup stock, feel free to use canned soup broth.

  For the crab meat, use fresh or canned. I buy the canned claw crab meat, from the supermarket, because it is less pricey, but has the same good quality. And it's convenient if you don't have time to go to the seafood market, especially during these lockdown days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 384mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 881IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided  in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.

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