Keto Egg Drop Soup
Keto egg drop soup with wide silky ribbons instead of scrambled lumps, thickened with a quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum in place of the usual cornstarch slurry. Fifteen minutes start to finish, 2g net carbs and 9.6g protein a bowl.
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 bowls
Calories 106 kcal
- 4 cups chicken broth 950 g, good quality
- 2 tsp fresh ginger finely grated
- 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil added off the heat
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric optional, for color
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum it thickens fast, do not add more
- 3 large eggs beaten completely smooth
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper white, not black
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
Prepare: Beat the large eggs in a jug with a spout until completely smooth, with no ropes of white left. Slice the green onions, keeping whites and greens separate.
Simmer: Bring the chicken broth to a boil with the grated fresh ginger, soy sauce, ground turmeric and the green onion whites. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook 5 minutes.
Thicken: Whisk briskly while sprinkling the xanthan gum over the surface, never tipping it in as a pile. In about 30 seconds the broth turns glossy.
Drop the eggs: Turn the heat to its lowest setting and wait until the surface is barely moving. Stir a slow circle and pour the beaten eggs in a thin stream around the edge of the pot over 20-30 seconds. Then stop stirring for 20 seconds so the ribbons set.
Finish: Off the heat, stir in the toasted sesame oil and ground white pepper. Taste for salt and scatter the green onion tops over the bowls.
Gentle simmer, slow stir. Boiling broth sets the egg into lumps; fast stirring shreds it into fine wisps. Barely-moving liquid plus a slow circle gives wide ribbons.
Leave it still for 20 seconds after the last of the egg goes in, before you stir again.
Sprinkle the xanthan gum while whisking. Tipped in as a pile it clumps and the clumps never dissolve. A quarter teaspoon thickens 4 cups.
Storage: refrigerate up to 3 days and reheat gently over low heat. Do not freeze; cooked egg goes spongy. Keyword egg drop soup without cornstarch, Gluten-Free, keto egg drop soup, low carb egg drop soup, quick keto soup, xanthan gum soup