Egg Flower Soup
(also known as Egg Drop Soup)


This is called Egg Flower Soup because of the way the egg "blossoms" when you slowly pour it into the boiling water. It's a truly beautiful soup. The name given to it by American-Chinese restaurants "egg drop soup" is kind of a misnomer because the egg isn't dropped into the soup, but rather poured, slowly and carefully to create the "flowers."

You need:
6 cups of chicken broth*
1 tablespoon wine (rice wine, if you've got it, but any white wine works well.)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon salt (unless the broth already contains salt)
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

In a soup pot, bring the broth and wine to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. (Note: At this point, I sometimes add a handfull of julienned carrots, green onions, or even snow peas and cook for 30 - 40 seconds.)

Add the cornstarch disolved in water and cook until the soup thickens a bit. Turn off the heat.

Slowly pour in the egg and stir lightly with a chopstick in a circular motion to make the egg turn into long threads. Stir in the sesame oil, salt, and white pepper.

Serve as-is or with fried noodles.

* Note -- Chicken broth is a cinch to make. Why buy the stuff at the store with all the salt and preservatives made in a factory somewhere when you can make your own and have some control of the contents? Any time I serve chicken with bones in it, I save the bones, skin, and any leftovers to make broth. I keep a gallon-sized bag in the freezer, to which I add scraps until the bag is full. Once it's full, I just add enough water to fill the pot, bring it to a boil, and then simmer until the water has reduced by 1/4. I then store it in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 days, and use it to make soup. I can make broth while I'm using my kitchen to make dinner so it's really not inconvenient, and it tastes so much better!

FLAN

1 recipe caramel (see following recipe)

6 large eggs

6 large egg yolks

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups milk

2 cups half-and-half

1 vanilla bean

1. Prepare caramel and coat a 9 inch round cake pan.

2. Preheat oven to 325*

3. In a large mixing bowl, gently whisk together the eggs, yolks, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract. (Avoid incorporating air as happens when you whisk more briskly.)

4. Pour the milk and half-and-half into a medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and, using the tip of a pairing knife, scrape the black seeds into the milk. Add the bean also and bring the milk to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

5. Gradually, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pass the milk and egg mixture through a strainer into the caramel-coated cake pan. Place the cake pan inside a large roasting pan and carefully pour hot tap water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the flan pan.

6. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the center just feels firm when pressed with a finger. Set aside to cool in the pan of water, then remove from water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

7. To serve, run a knife along the inside edge of the pan and gently press the center of the bottom to loosen. Cover pan with aplatter, invert, and lift the pan off the flan. Cut the flan in wedges and serve topped with cold caramel.

CARAMEL

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water

1. Have ready a 9-inch round cake pan. Combine the sugar and 1/2 cup of the water in a medium saucepan. Cook over moderate heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the color is darm brown and the mixture has a distinctive fragrance of caramel, about 15 minutes. Use a pastry brush dipped in cold water to wash down any sugar granules from the pot's sides. Pour enough of the hot caramel into a 9-inch round cake pan to coat the bottom and sides. Swirl to coat evenly.

2. Slowly and carefully add the remaining 3/4 cup water to the caramel in the saucepan. Bring to a aboul and cook over moderate heat u ntil the caramel dissolves, about 5 minutes. Occasionally stir and brush down the sides with the pastry brush dipped in cold water to prevent crystallization. Set this caramel sauce aside to cool and then chill until serving time.