Roasted Chicken in Egg Flower Soup

After reading about how people can maintain their health by changing their attitudes about life, including eating and drinking moderately, I felt inspired to make this refined soup. However, this is an old recipe from a Chinese cookbook that I read a long time ago. In the original recipe, this soup is made with ripe cantaloupe and steamed chicken. I want to create my own recipe as a combination of the recipe for egg flower soup and that of a Chinese steamed chicken soup being served in take-out restaurants or the soup offered as an appetizer. I used a roasted chicken from Costco, and it saved me half of the time necessary for preparation; in addition, the bone of the chicken was used to make stock. For a healthier version of chicken stock, I added a piece of dried kelp thirty minutes before the stock was done.  I was very super happy with this newly created recipe because it has all the ingredients that are so healthy, such as cooked tomatoes, roasted chicken adding more flavor, and dry black mushrooms giving the soup an interesting taste. I think this soup is so simple, yet so good.

Ingredients:
2 ripe but firm tomatoes, blanched in hot water, skin and seeds removed, cut into tiny pieces
2 tbs minced scallion, white part only
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs sake or dry sherry
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp fresh ginger minced
2 cups roasted chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
3 dried Chinese black mushrooms or shitake mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes and chopped
2 tsp peanut oil
Soup base:
5 cups chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbs cornstarch
3 tbs water

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro

Directions:
Put the oil into a heavy soup pot and heat until very hot. Add  ginger, and scallions and stir-fry for 10 seconds or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add soy sauce and wine and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, mushrooms and chicken. Season with salt and pepper and bring to boil. Simmer for 7

 

minutes. Mix the cornstarch with water and add the thickener into the soup, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Skim off any impurities that may have risen to the surface. Turn of the heat and slowly add the eggs in a thin stream, pouring in a circular manner the pot. Stir once or twice. Ladle soup into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro on top.