Noodles East · Chinese home cooking
Tomato and Egg Soup with Flour Drops
Ripe tomatoes are simmered into a light broth, then tiny flour-and-water drops and beaten egg are slipped in to make a soft, spoonable soup with tender little dumplings in every mouthful.
About this dish
This soup is built from things that keep in the cupboard. Tomatoes are cooked down first until they slump and give up their sharpness, leaving a broth that is faintly sweet rather than acidic. The flour drops are nothing more than flour and water rubbed into rough crumbs; they swell in the simmering liquid into soft, irregular little dumplings. Egg is drizzled in at the very end to set as thin clouds. Listen for a quiet bubbling and watch for the moment the red broth turns glossy.
Before you start
Equipment: Pot. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
7 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Make the flour crumbs
Put 120 g flour in a bowl and trickle in 80 ml cold water while rubbing with your fingertips for about 60 seconds. Stop when the mixture forms pea-size, shaggy crumbs with no dry flour left at the bottom.
Start the tomato base
Warm 1 tbsp oil in a pot over medium heat for 60 seconds, then add 15 g ginger and the scallion whites. Stir for 1 minute until they smell fragrant and soften without taking on any brown colour.
Cook down the tomatoes
Add 400 g chopped tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt, and cook over medium-high heat for 6 minutes, stirring now and then. They have had enough when the pieces have collapsed into a loose, jammy sauce and the raw tomato smell has gone.
Build the broth
Pour in 750 ml stock and bring to a gentle boil over high heat, about 3 minutes. The broth is ready when it bubbles steadily at the edges and the tomato has bleached it to a soft orange-red.
Drop in the crumbs
Lower the heat to medium so the surface simmers gently. Sprinkle the flour crumbs in a little at a time, stirring, over 2 minutes; they are ready when they float and look swollen, with no dusty streak in the broth.
Add the egg
Drizzle 110 g beaten egg in a slow thread over low heat and wait 30 seconds before one gentle stir. Broad, pale ribbons should rise to the surface and the broth should turn slightly cloudy and thicker.
Finish
Turn off the heat and stir in 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp white pepper and the scallion greens. Rest for 1 minute; serve when the drops are tender all the way through and the soup coats a spoon lightly.
Tips that matter
- Add the flour crumbs slowly and keep the broth at a bare simmer; dumping them in at a hard boil glues them into one lump.
- Rub the dough lightly; overworking it develops gluten and turns the tender drops into chewy pellets.
Easy variations
- Stir in 80 g baby spinach leaves with the stock for a greener, slightly mineral broth.
- Replace half the water in the crumbs with 40 ml beaten egg for richer, yellower drops.
Questions that come up
Why did my flour drops dissolve into paste?
The crumbs were too wet or the broth boiled too hard. Use only 80 ml water, keep the crumbs shaggy, and add them to a gentle simmer.
Can I use canned tomatoes?
Yes. Use 400 g canned chopped tomatoes, skip the 6-minute cook-down, and add a pinch of sugar to replace the sweetness fresh tomatoes develop.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 290 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 12 g |
| Carbohydrate | 42 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
Boiling Noodles and Pasta Well
Salt, water volume, the two-minute window and the starchy cooking liquid that most home cooks pour down the sink.
