Yellow Egg Soup

So, I thought I'd toss this meal recipe out there and see of anybody likes it. I like strong, rich, spicy flavor's and this one fits the bill. I've developed a hundred variations over the years.

Warning: if you don't like fish sauce, this is a waste of your time unless you want to try it without the fish sauce. I've never tried that, so I can't vouch for that, but it's probably still good.

It's very easy to keep it under 300 calories. It sticks with you and fills you up.

I use it like a base, and often add different things to either increase the calories or add texture and bulk. I'll drop a few of those suggestions at the end.

I call it Yellow Egg Soup, or Yellow Egg Fish Soup, if I add Tuna. You can do it the exact same way without the tuna and lower the calories/protein of you like.

All of the following ingredients can be replaced by fresh instead of powdered, and occasionally I do, but this recipe is for the quick, cheap and easy version. Additionally, the measurements listed are approximations. I rarely actually measure anything but the fish sauce and lime juice, and sometimes not even that.

3 or 4 cups water, in a pot on medium, bring to a boil while adding spices and sauces.

1/2 tsp. garlic powder or more
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. black pepper or more
1 tsp. ginger powder or as much as you like.
2 tbs. Fish sauce, (I prefer Viet Huang with the three crabs on the label.)
2 tbs. Lime juice, fresh squeezed or concentrate.
Salt to taste.

Optional 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste to add natural, flavor enhancing glutamates aand a hint of savory flavoring. You won't even know it's there.

Optional 1/2 tsp. or more of onion powder

Using fresh variations of the spices will require a little more cooking to soften and add texture. These can also be sautéed in the pot before adding water. It's good (better) like that too.

If you want to add a little heat, a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce goes nicely, but I love this without it.

At this point, taste the broth. If it doesn't suit your taste, add spices freely in reasonable proportions to bring it up to snuff. This broth just doesn't work as well without at least a little salt. Some things just have to have it.

When it reaches a boil, dump in 1 can of tuna. If it's packed in water, dump that in too. (It is important not to cook this too long.)

Next, turn it up to medium high heat and as soon as it reaches a rolling boil, crack two eggs right into the middle of it. Let those cook for a couple of minutes, but not much more. If you prefer, break the yolks immediately and they will thicken the broth, otherwise leave them whole as I do. I love the soft texture with a little over easy style yolk in the middle.

Obviously, using only egg whites is an option, but I never do that. It'd still be good.

The eggs whites will break up. This is intentional.

Pull it off the heat after about two minutes and pour it into a bowl to slow down the tuna cooking, otherwise it will be dry.


Eat it up. If it reminds you a little of hot and sour soup (if Tabasco was added) or spicy Asian ramen noodles, you're right in the ballpark.

I often add celery or bok choy or cabbage or other fairly neutral flavored veggies to the water first and sautée or let them cook for a while in the water before adding the rest and following the above process. These add textures and a variety of flavor's, obviously.

Dry coconut shavings added at the beginning adds great mildly crunchy texture. Weigh these for calorie tracking!

Using a chicken or beef broth or coconut water instead of water adds a great deal of flavor and some calories.

Sometimes I drop in a couple of dollops of salsa early on. Sometimes I put fresh cilantro or mint in it at the end. Sometimes I add a whole can of tomato paste at the beginning to jazz it up even more. Sometimes I toss in other precooked meats alongside or instead of the tuna.

One of my favorite additions is some diced up Kim Chi.

You can really play with it, but the base has a distinctly Asian flare.

A lot of folks won't like it, but I absolutely love it.