Chinese corn soup is a perfect dish for your weekday dinner because it’s so fast and easy to put together. The silky chicken soup is loaded with egg ribbons, chicken and corn – it’s so rich and satisfying that it can be served as a light main dish. {Gluten-Free adaptable}
Chinese corn soup is called “corn stew” (玉米羹, yu mi geng) in Chinese. It is a different form of Chinese egg drop soup. Loaded with corn kernels and chicken meat, the dish features a thick, silky broth with a richer taste than that of the average egg drop soup. Egg drop soup might be the most popular soup at Chinese restaurants in the US. But Chinese corn soup was my favorite soup growing up because it is richer and contains more goodies.
My mom makes egg drop soup and tomato egg drop soup a few times a week, because she found the corn one to be a bit much to prepare. It is a dish we’d often order at restaurants for a treat. But in fact, corn soup only takes one extra step to make, and you only need 20 minutes to prep and cook it. The soup is so satisfying that I usually serve it as a main dish for a light one-bowl dinner.
Ingredients for making Chinese corn soup
Ground chicken vs chicken pieces
In my Chinese corn soup, I always opt to use ground chicken instead of sliced chicken pieces. Because it takes less time to prepare this way, and the ground chicken releases more flavor into the soup to make it richer.
Restaurant Chinese corn soup often uses thinly sliced chicken pieces in the soup. If you prefer to make it this way, you can simply replace the ground chicken with chicken breast or thigh. Slice it into thin bite-size pieces and follow the recipe as it is.
Choose a good chicken broth
Since Chinese corn soup uses very few ingredients to season the soup, it’s important to find a good quality broth base. My favorite chicken broth is the Kirkland Organic Chicken Stock from Costco. It is so much richer than the many other brands I’ve tried.
My other favorite is Better than Bouillon Roast Chicken Base and I always keep a jar of it in the fridge. It has a super rich taste and I like to use it as a base for soup and stew, and sometimes stir fries. For this recipe, simply use 1 heaping tablespoon of the chicken base dissolved in water to replace the chicken broth.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Beaten eggs
- Corn kernels, drained
- Cornstarch slurry
- Salt
- Sesame oil
- Sliced green onion
- Ginger
- Chicken marinated in cornstarch, wine and salt
- Chicken broth
To Make a meatless version
You can skip the chicken to make a meatless version. It makes a perfect side dish to wash down your dinner.
I personally like the version with ground chicken, because the browned bits add tons of flavor to the soup. If you add a small handful of noodles and green vegetables such as spinach, the soup makes a hearty full meal.
How to make Chinese corn soup
Making Chinese corn soup is so easy:
- Brown the ground chicken
- Add the chicken broth and ginger, then bring to a boil
- Skim the foam from the top once the soup starts to boil
- Add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup
- Drizzle in the egg to make egg ribbons
- Stir gently, finish up with sesame oil and green onion
How to make perfect egg ribbons
To make the perfect egg ribbons, make sure to:
- Beat the eggs very thoroughly, so there’s no lumps in the mixture.
- Properly thicken the soup using the cornstarch slurry before adding the eggs.
- Turn the heat to low or off, so the soup is at a very low simmer.
- Very slowly drizzle a thin stream of the egg mixture using a pair of chopsticks or a fork against the bowl.
- Once you’ve added all the eggs, wait for a few seconds to let the egg set before stirring.
How to serve Chinese corn soup
You can serve Chinese corn soup along with other main dishes for a full dinner. Although the soup itself is quite filling, so sometimes I serve it by itself as a light lunch.
Here are some dishes to serve it with:
- Chinese Okra Salad, Two Ways (凉拌秋葵)
- Scallion Beef Stir Fry (葱爆牛肉)
- Air Fryer Garlic Ribs (蒜香排骨)
- Authentic Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
- Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry
Chinese Corn Soup with Chicken (鸡蛋玉米羹)
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb (225 g) ground chicken (or ground turkey)
- 1 teaspoon salt , divided (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch , divided
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 large slice ginger
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup canned or frozen corn , drained (*see footnote 1)
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder (for color, optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 eggs , beaten
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 green onion , chopped (and extra for garnish)
Instructions
- Combine the ground chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, Shaoxing wine and 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch in a small bowl. Mix well and let marinate while preparing the other ingredients.
- Heat the oil in a big pot until warm. Add ground chicken. Let cook as you chop the chicken into smaller pieces. Keep cooking until the chicken is almost cooked through and the surface is lightly browned.
- Add chicken stock and ginger. Turn to high heat. Cook until brought to a boil. Skim and discard the foam from the top of the soup. Then add the corn and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn to medium-low heat.
- While boiling the soup, combine the remaining cornstarch, turmeric powder, and pepper white pepper with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Swirl the cornstarch starch slurry into the soup. Stir until the soup thickens. Turn to medium-low heat so the soup comes to a low simmer.
- Put a spatula (or a fork) against one end of the bowl with the egg in it. Slowly drizzle the egg into the soup in a swirling motion. Let the egg sit for 15 seconds, then stir the soup again to mix everything together. Taste the soup with a small spoon. If the soup is not as thick as you’d like, mix a bit more cornstarch slurry and add it into the soup. Add more salt to adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Drizzle with sesame oil and add green onion. Serve hot.
Notes
- You can use 2 cups of corn to make a more substantial soup (almost like a stew) and serve as a light meal.
Perfect timing for this recipe as I just picked up fresh sweet corn and peas! This soup took no time to make and is really delicious!!! I added a big handful of fresh spinach and some enoki mushrooms at the end to bulk it up for a filling meal. Thanks for another amazing recipe!!!
Hello,
Can you explain me what means a “cup”?. How many grams/ml contains a cup?
Thank You.
I use the US measuring cup, 1 cup equals 240ml
Heart warming soup! I added some white pepper and the celestial choir sang!
Can I use canned corn and peas instead of frozen ones?
Yes you can!
Maggie, can you clarify the use of two heaping Tablespoons of better than bouillon dissolved in water? How much water would you use? The ingredients list say you used 4 cups of chicken broth, I’m assuming from a carton? Because, the reconstitute instructions for BTB on the jar is 1tsp per cup of water so using 4 cups of water and 2 Tablespoons would be really salty (that equivalent to 6 tsp of BTB paste) – of course that is subjective, but I want to make sure that’s what you did, using BTB. Thanks
Philip
My math was wrong – it’s actually 4 tsp total for 4 cups of water so that’s only 1 1/2 tablespoons, so a total of 2 tablespoons isn’t so bad. Can you check my math?🥴
I think I did the math wrong. Their instruction says 1 teaspoon bouillon per 8 oz. Somehow I used a calculation per 4 oz….
It should be 1 heaping tablespoon per 4 cups of water.
When I make the soup using the bouillon I never measure it and I usually use a pretty big scoop. But I think it’s safer to follow the instruction (1 1/2 tablespoons bouillon per 4 cups water), and you can always add more at the end if needed.
Sorry about the mistake and thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have updated my post to reflect the change.
Made this for dinner tonight, along with potstickers and Asian appetizers. Very mild taste but also very comforting soup. Will keep the recipe and next time, I will not put 2Tbsp of cornstarch with the meat! But it was fine and I still had to add cornstarch to thicken the broth.
This tasted delicious! I love trying your recipes because you make it easy to try.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the soup and thanks for leaving a positive review! This is one of my favorite dishes 🙂
I love this soup! I finally, with the cornstarch, have that texture I wanted to duplicate from the restaurants.
I added a ton of soaked dried shiitake and their soaking water, some sliced cabbage, and a few dried shrimp for umami like you recommend in another recipe and it is super-delicious even though I had pre-roasted instead of ground chicken. What I love most is the subtle bite of the white pepper – it is amazing how much this ingredient changes the whole experience for the better.
All your recipes are the best. They never fail to taste fantastic. Your descriptions are so clear and helpful. I am so grateful you are sharing this with us because it’s very hard to find AUTHENTIC recipes online amid the ocean of mediocre recipes. In the past I had to search and search and experiment with hit-or-miss results. Now I just stick to your blog and the search is unnecessary.
Hi Sonia, thanks for your thoughtful comment and the positive review! It is definitely OK to use pre-roast chicken. And if you add some dried shrimp, it will boast the flavor a lot. Adding cabbage sounds delicious and healthy. I’d love to try that out in my own kitchen the next time 🙂
I make this all the time, super easy and I get it done so fast. I love it
I made the corn and chicken soup as well as the chicken and broccoli recipes exactly as you wrote them, and showed them in your video. They both turned out delicious! Thank you for inspiring me to cook in a Chinese style. While my heritage is Hungarian, my daughter in law and her children have a Chinese background. So, I’m always trying to appease both sides of cultural cooking. Keep up your fabulous work! 💕Judy Der
I make this over and over and over. It’s outstanding. I like to puree half of the corn in a blender before adding it to the soup to give the broth more color and body. Otherwise, I make it exactly as written and love it every time. Thank you! Side note: since chicken broth tastes wildly different by brand and heavily flavors this soup, my favorite chicken broth to use for this soup is “chicken bouillon powder” by Lee Kum Kee.
Love the idea of puree some of the corn and add to the soup! Yum! I can’t wait to try it out myself next time 🙂
I made this recipe now for a few times and it never disappoints. It comes together quickly and has a awesome combination of flavours. My whole family loves this recipe and I’m quite sure that this will continue to be a staple recipe cooked again and again. Thank you so much for this great recipe ❤️
Hi Maggie! I like this recipe and going to try it now, but it’s not clear to me how should I treat the ginger? Should I mince it, or cut on thin sticks, or something else?.. For now, I am going to mince it while I am waiting for your response!
I usually add one large piece of thinly sliced ginger into the broth. It will infuse the flavor and I can easily fish it out when I serve the soup.
That being said, you can totally mince the ginger. It adds more flavor to the broth (which I also like) and you can also eat the ginger this way, which is very healthy.
Such a fast response, thank you! The soup turn out great with minced ginger, and its crunchiness complimented the corn so well! It just just seemed not thick enough. I added more starch, next time I should use maybe even more starch, so it will be 3 tablespoons then.