This Chinese Chicken Corn Soup is a thick, comforting soup that comes together in just 15–20 minutes. Made with tender chicken, sweet corn, and silky egg ribbons. This recipe is inspired by both Chinese corn soup and Pakistani street-style soup. This recipe delivers the best of both worlds—authentic flavor with a subtle Indo-Chinese heat.
Have you heard of Egg drop soup? Its a soup that has egg ribbons as you add the egg to hot liquid. This recipe has those egg ribbons and an extra something in the form of corn and chicken. Let’s go!
The moment the temperature drops, I’m all about slurpy comfort food—think my lentil oats bowl piled high with crispy toppings. Chicken corn soup is a total warm hug in a bowl, perfect for cozy days, especially when I’m not in the mood for the bold, fiery punch of my Hot and Sour Soup (that one’s strictly for spice lovers). 💛
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Ingredients and Substitutes
You need very few ingredients to put this soup together. Let me walk you through it a little:
- Chicken Broth/Stalk – Homemade chicken broth is always the best option, in terms of flavor, nutrition, and freshness. As alternatives, you can use store-bought chicken stock or dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in water.
- Shredded Chicken – I use shredded chicken that is left over from my batch of chicken broth. You can boil a chicken breast in some salted water to get instant shredded chicken. Or wash and use any chicken that’s left over from last night’s dinner.
- Corn – Half of the corn used here is going to be whole Kernels for bite and texture. The other half of the corn will be creamed to make a smooth paste and add flavor to the soup.
- Seasonings – Salt, black pepper, white pepper, and garlic powder.
- Thickening agent – Like most soups, I’ve used cornflour/cornstarch slurry to thicken this soup. As a substitute, you can use arrowroot flour or tapioca flour. You can’t tell the difference.
- Egg – Beaten eggs add those beautiful flowers or ribbons to the soup that it is iconically known for. You can use whole eggs or egg whites, based on your preference.
- Garnish – For desi-style restaurants, you will always find soy sauce, hot sauce, and green chilies cut up in vinegar, served as the three condiments for this soup. A little spring onion on top, too, to make it pretty.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Instructions
Here is a simple pictorial to show you how easy it is to pull together this soup in under 20 minutes!
Step 1: Heat up the chicken stock/broth in a stock pot until it starts to boil.
Step 2: Add all the seasonings and shredded chicken to the pot.
Step 3: Cream half of the corn to make a paste and add the creamed corn and corn kernels to the soup.
Step 4: Stir all the ingredients and allow the soup to simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 5: Make a slurry of cornstarch with water and add it to the soup while stirring.
Step 6: Cover the soup and let it thicken for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 7: Reduce the heat to low. Beat eggs in a bowl. Drop it in the soup while stirring the soup.
Step 8: You will get egg ribbons in the soup. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot.
Note: To create beautiful egg ribbons, do these 3 things
– Keep the heat low
– Drop your beaten eggs slowly from some height.
– Stir the soup with a spoon from your other hand simultaneously.
Serving
The chicken corn soup is served hot, garnished with spring onions and 3 condiments on the side:
- Soy sauce
- Hot sauce
- Vinegar with green chilies sliced and added to it.
- Toasted sesame oil (optional)
In restaurants, they bring it out with lovely prawn crackers. I love pairing it with fried rice and dragon chicken to make it a meal. On my low-carb days, I go with my chicken shashlik sticks and this bowl of goodness.
Expert Tips
Here are some pointers that I’ve learned along the way:
- The best chicken corn soup is made with homemade broth. It’s probably not what you want to hear (as you’ve made it evident on the IG polls), but sadly, it is true. Your soup is only as good as the broth.
- If you are making this for a gathering, assemble all the ingredients (except cornflour) in a bowl and refrigerate. On the day of the dinner, simply heat up the broth and add your thickening agent to it.
- Always stir the soup simultaneously while adding cornflour to avoid lumps.
Variations
This soup is the simplest, basic, and most delicious version of a chicken corn soup there is. Feel free to experiment and make it your own! Here are some great variations for you to try
- Vegetarian- Use tofu and vegetable broth instead of chicken and chicken stock to make it a vegetarian soup. You can also add more vegetables or mushrooms to this recipe to load up on the fibre.
- Toppings– Pakistani street-style soups are sometimes served with slims, which are basically local spicy potato chips, which go really well, might I add!
- Texture – You can cream all the corn if you don’t like corn kernels in your soup.
- Noodles – Add ramen or egg noodles to the soup while it’s simmering to make noodle soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use tofu instead of chicken and use a vegetable broth instead of chicken to make this a fully vegetarian soup.
Yes absolutely! You can freeze the soup. The soup freezes well for up to 2 months. To reheat, directly put the soup block in a pot with a splash of water to revive it. You might have to add more cornflour to thicken it back again.
The soup can easily last up to 5 days in the fridge.
Soups or any other dishes that have cornflour in them are better off heated on the stove rather than the microwave. I mean, you CAN, but you will not get good results, and might end up with lumpy soup.
More Comfort Recipes on the blog
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Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!
Chicken Corn Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Litre Chicken Broth see notes
- 1 cup shredded chicken see notes
- 1/2 cup canned corns whole
- 1/2 cup corns blended with water to make paste
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder or crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon White pepper powder optional
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
- 4 tablespoon Cornflour mixed with water to make a slurry
- 1 whole Egg Beaten
Toppings and Garnish
- Soy Sauce
- Vinegar with green chilies sliced in it.
- Hot Sauce
- sliced spring onion
Instructions
- Add your chicken broth and a litre of water into a large stock pot and heat at medium to high flame on the stove.
- Once your broth starts to boil, add all the seasonings, shredded chicken, corn kernels and corn paste. Allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and add your cornflour slurry while stirring to avoid any lumping.
- Allow the soup to thicken. Add more cornflour if you want your soup to be thicker.
- Serve hot, garnished with green onions and condiments on the side.
Notes
- Chicken stock substitute
To use chicken bouillon cubes instead of chicken stock, follow this ratio
2 cubes for 1 Litre of Water.
Do NOT add salt of your own while using stock cubes. Taste the soup, then decide if you need more salt, as the stock cubes are always high in sodium. - Thickening Agent
Use Arrowroot or tapioca flour if you don’t want to use cornflour - You can freeze the leftover soup. To reheat it, simmer it on the stove with a splash of water. You may have to add more thickening agent again.
Questions? Thoughts? Leave them below