Boiling and Poaching · FFET10221
Zi cai dan hua tang (seaweed and egg drop soup)
Torn dried laver and egg ribbons in simmering stock or water, finished with scallion and a little sesame oil, ready in about 15 minutes.
A deep white porcelain bowl holds clear pale golden broth with torn dark laver, soft yellow egg ribbons, chopped green scallion and a glossy oil sheen on top, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Cooking ingredients in water or stock until done, covering boiling, poaching, scalding and blanching.
Zi cai dan hua tang is a home-style soup made by dropping dried laver into boiling stock or water, pouring in beaten egg and sprinkling scallion, often with a little sesame oil and white pepper. Many Chinese families serve soup with every meal, and a bowl like this takes about 15 minutes. Plain egg drop soup originated in China; available information does not establish where or when the seaweed version began.
What
Zi cai dan hua tang is a light soup: dried laver is torn into boiling stock or water, beaten egg is poured in, and scallion, a little sesame oil and white pepper are added. Zi cai is dried laver, often sold in disc-shaped packs.3,4
When
Available information gives no date for this soup or for the appearance of the seaweed version.1,2,3,4
Where
It is commonly cooked in Chinese homes; available information does not tie the seaweed version to any province. Egg drop soup originated in China.1,2,3,4
How
Bring stock or water to a boil, add the laver, pour in the egg and sprinkle scallion; it is ready in about 15 minutes. The laver can first be toasted in a dry pan for 1 to 2 minutes a side, or added straight to boiling water with ginger and salt.3,4
Why
Many Chinese families serve soup with every meal, and a bowl like this is ready in about 15 minutes.3,4
Impact and influence
Egg drop soup in China is thinner than the American-Chinese kind. A restaurant kitchen made plain egg drop soup, without laver, every day.2,3
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
Zi cai dan hua tang is a home soup, and both recipes below give amounts and steps: one from a family food writer and one from another home-cooking writer with a byline. My home version mostly follows the former: 5 g of laver, 2 eggs and about 1.2 liters of stock and water together are about the same in both recipes, and the former toasts the laver, as I do. I leave out the optional dried shrimp and meatballs in the recipes. A cup is a US cup, about 240 ml.
Ingredients
- Dried laver 5 g
- Chicken stock 4 cups
- Water 1 cup
- Eggs 2, beaten
- Scallion 1, thinly sliced
- Sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon
- White pepper 1/4 teaspoon
- Salt a pinch, to taste
Steps
- Toast the dried laver in a dry pan over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes a side, the time in the former recipe, until fragrant, taking care not to burn it. Let it cool and tear it into small pieces.
- Pour the stock and water into a pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Add the torn laver and cook for about 1 minute; that time is my own choice.
- Turn the heat down to a gentle boil and pour the beaten egg in slowly around the edge of the pot. Wait for the egg to set before gently pushing it apart. The egg must be cooked until it turns white and firm.
- Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, white pepper, salt and scallion, and serve hot.
Tips
- I pour the egg slowly so the ribbons come out fine, and I leave it alone until it sets before pushing it apart.
- The latter recipe uses disc-packed dried laver, puts it straight into the boiling water and adds ginger; I toast mine first, as the former recipe does, because I find it smells better that way.
Allergens: egg, sesame