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Kakitamajiru
Egg drop soup
Kakitamajiru (かき玉汁): clear vegetarian dashi soup lightly thickened, with feathery beaten egg
When the miso pot is empty, or someone in a Japanese home is feeling poorly, kakitamajiru is the soup that comes out: a clear, gently seasoned dashi thickened very slightly with potato starch so that a stream of beaten egg sets into soft, floating ribbons. It is served in lacquer bowls alongside rice and a main dish at an ordinary dinner anywhere in Japan. This version uses vegetarian kombu-shiitake dashi. Eggs are an allergen. A bowl is about 55 kcal. The most common mistake is pouring the egg into soup that is not quite boiling, which makes it cloudy; the broth must be bubbling when the egg goes in. Chef's tip: pour the egg through the tines of a fork in a thin stream, moving round the pan; it gives the finest, fluffiest strands.
- Total time
- 17 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups water
- ⅓ oz kombua 15 cm piece
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp potato starch or cornflourmixed with 1 tbsp cold water
- 2 eggswell beaten
- 1 handful mitsuba or spring onionchopped
- ½ tsp ginger juice (optional)squeezed from grated ginger
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 3 ¼ cups water, ⅓ oz kombu and 2 dried shiitake mushrooms in a pan and heat gently for 8–10 minutes until small bubbles appear. Remove the kombu, simmer for 2 minutes more, then lift out the shiitake (slice it and return it if you like).
10 minStep 2: Season with ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp light soy sauce. Stir the 2 tsp potato starch or cornflour mixture again and pour it in while stirring. Simmer for 1 minute, until the soup thickens very slightly and looks glossy.
1 minStep 3: With the soup at a steady boil, pour 2 eggs through a fork in a thin stream, moving in a circle. Leave it alone for 10 seconds, then stir once gently: the egg should float in soft yellow ribbons.
1 minStep 4: Turn off the heat, add 1 handful mitsuba or spring onion and ½ tsp ginger juice and serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 55 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 3 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kakitamajiru take?
- About 17 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 12 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of dried shiitake mushrooms?
- Aubergine, diced, same weight.
- What can I use instead of light soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
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