Egg Flower Soup

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! There's a restaurant in Beaverton, OR called Chang's Mongolian Grill, where our family ate growing up. We went there for all the special occasions - birthdays, graduation, new years, dates, etc., and all the times in between. We ate there so often in fact, that the owners and chefs knew our names! Every time Luke and I go to Oregon, we try and visit. They do a pretty good job of keeping things gluten free (as long as you go at the beginning of the lunch/dinner hour, since it is a buffet-style place).

We've been to many similar restaurants, and nothing else compares. Their combination of food/sauces is so unique, and so delicious! You start the meal out with hitting up the food bar, where you essentially grab all your "ingredients," then take it up to the grill for them to fry it up for you. You get back to your table, and are greeted by egg flower soup, sticky rice and crepes (don't know if these are GF, haven't asked...). Dessert is a fortune cookie atop chocolate ice cream (on the side for me, though). So good! So worth the trip to Oregon for ;) Just kidding Mom and Dad!

For the rest of the time, when we're Chang's-less, we have Egg Flower Soup.

I found this recipe in my trusty "Life Tastes Good Again" cookbook, but didn't try it until one night, when I was desperately hungry, and short on ingredients. Luckily I had everything for this soup. I started jumping up and down when I tasted it, because it was exactly as I remembered Chang's soup being! This is a great accompaniment to chicken fried rice, or stir-fry. It's also a great dinner when you're home late, and thinking, there's nothing to eat...like I was tonight :)

I've made some variations to the original recipe, and here it is in all it's simplicity and deliciousness!

Egg Flower Soup

2 tbsp starch (cornstarch/arrowroot works great)

dash of salt

2 1/2 c chicken broth (I use Swanson, have tried using homemade, and it's just not as good)

1/2 c water

1/2 - 1 cup carrots, finely minced or grated

1 egg, beaten

Combine the starch and salt in a medium pan. Stirring with a whisk, slowly add the liquids.

Add the carrots. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring very frequently.

Once it's boiling, decrease the heat to medium. I usually let it cook for about 10 minutes, to soften the carrots.

While gently stirring with a spoon, slowly drizzle the beaten egg into the soup. If you use a whisk, you break the egg up too much. If you pour the egg in too fast, you get big clumps of egg. Which aren't necessarily bad, if you like them. My sister and I used to have competitions to find the biggest egg lump in our soup!

Remove soup from heat and serve hot. Makes 3 full servings, or 5 appetizer servings. Reheats really well.

P.S. This post is linked over to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays! Check out the other great recipes posted there!!