If you’ve had Hong Kong-style Chinese soups, you may know this as 雞茸粟米羹, or chicken and corn soup. My version differs from many Western-style chicken and corn soups because it contains no cream. Instead, I use finely minced chicken and fresh corn, with half of the corn coarsely crushed to thicken the soup naturally. A beaten egg is added at the end to form fine ribbons, similar to an egg-drop soup.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Natural corn flavor: Fresh corn provides the sweetness and much of the natural body of the soup.
- Thick but flowing: Coarsely crushed corn gives the soup a naturally thick texture while keeping it lighter and more fluid than a cream-based soup.
- Good texture: Keeping half of the corn whole gives you a pleasant contrast between the thickened soup and the whole kernels.
- Tender chicken: A little cold water, cornstarch, and oil help keep the finely minced chicken moist and tender as it cooks in the soup.
- Quick preparation: This is a quick-cooked soup rather than one that depends on long simmering. Much of its texture comes from preparing the corn properly before cooking.
- No cream needed: The corn, chicken, and egg provide plenty of body and texture, so there is no need to add dairy.
Ingredients Breakdown
Chicken and Marinade
- Chicken breast: Use boneless chicken breast, preferably skinless, and finely dice or coarsely mince it for the delicate texture of 雞茸粟米羹.
- Marinade: Salt and white pepper season the chicken, while water, cornstarch, and oil help keep it moist and tender as it cooks.
Soup Seasoning
- Chicken stock: Forms the main soup base. Use a good-quality stock and check its saltiness before adding more salt.
- Salt and white pepper: Lightly season the soup without overpowering the natural sweetness of the corn.
Other Ingredients
- Fresh sweet corn: Half is coarsely crushed to give the soup natural body, while the other half is kept whole for texture.
- Cornstarch: Mixed with water and added at the end to adjust the thickness of the soup.
- Egg: Drizzled into the hot soup to create fine egg ribbons and add a little more thickness.
- Sesame oil: Added at the end for its characteristic aroma.
- Green onion: Thinly sliced and used as a simple garnish.
How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking
Prepare the corn
I prefer to use fresh corn for this recipe because it gives the soup a fresher corn flavor and lets us control the texture. You will need about 400g of kernels from roughly three fresh corn cobs.
The easiest way to remove the kernels is to cut each cob in half first. Stand one half upright on a large dish or tray, then use a sharp knife or cleaver to cut straight downward along the cob. Working over a dish or tray is important because the kernels can otherwise scatter all over the kitchen.
Once you have removed all the kernels, divide them into two roughly equal portions. Coarsely crush or blend one portion, but don’t turn it into a completely smooth purée. Keep the other half whole.
To retain as much of the corn’s natural juice as possible, don’t throw away the bare cobs immediately. Use the back of your knife to scrape down the cobs over the dish. Collect the milky juice and small pieces of corn and add them to the crushed corn.
Prepare the chicken
Cut 200g of boneless chicken breast into very small dice or coarsely mince it. The pieces should be fine enough to blend naturally into the soup rather than appearing as large chunks.
The Chinese name for this soup is 雞茸粟米羹. 粟米 is the Cantonese term for corn, while 羹 refers to a thickened soup. The 茸 in 雞茸 describes the fine, soft texture of the
The complete ingredient quantities and measurements are provided in the recipe card below.
Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
1. Cook the corn in the chicken stock
Pour 1000ml of good-quality chicken stock into a stock pot and add both the coarsely crushed corn and the whole corn kernels. Add 1 teaspoon salt, or adjust the amount according to how salty your chicken stock already is, and add ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper.
Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. As the crushed corn cooks, it releases its natural juice and starch into the stock, giving the soup much of its body. The cornstarch added later is mainly there to fine-tune the final consistency.
2. Add the minced chicken without letting it clump
Before adding the chicken, ladle some of the hot soup into the bowl containing the minced chicken.
Use a chopstick or spoon to stir the chicken thoroughly until it loosens and separates. Then return the chicken and the liquid to the pot.
Continue simmering gently until the chicken is fully cooked.
3. Adjust the thickness with the cornstarch slurry
Stir the cornstarch slurry again because the starch will settle at the bottom. Add it gradually to the soup while stirring.
Don’t try to reach the final thickness at this stage. Aim for about 80% of the thickness you want because the beaten egg will add some thickness in the next step.
The consistency you’re looking for is thick but still flowing. It should lightly coat the spoon while remaining fluid rather than becoming paste-like.
4. Add the egg and finish the soup
Reduce the heat so the soup is gently simmering. Slowly drizzle the beaten egg into the soup while stirring gently to create fine egg ribbons.
Once the egg has set, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil and taste the soup. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, keeping in mind that the saltiness of chicken stock can vary.
Finish with the thinly sliced green onion and serve hot.
A Few Tips From My Kitchen
Cut the cob first
I found that cutting the corn cob in half before removing the kernels makes the job much easier. The shorter pieces are easier to hold upright, and working inside a large dish or tray keeps the kernels from scattering around the kitchen.
Don’t waste the cob
After cutting off the kernels, there is still plenty of corn juice and soft pulp left on the cob. Scraping it with the back of a knife takes only a few seconds and adds more of the corn’s natural flavor to the soup.
Keep some corn whole
I prefer to crush only half of the fresh corn rather than blending everything. The crushed corn helps give the soup its body, while the whole kernels give you some texture as you eat.
Loosen the chicken first
This is one step I would not skip. Stirring some hot soup into the minced chicken before returning it to the pot makes it much easier to distribute the chicken evenly throughout the soup without forming lumps.
Watch the stock
Commercial chicken stocks vary considerably in saltiness. Check your stock before adding the full amount of salt and adjust it accordingly. It is much easier to add more salt later than to correct an overly salty soup.
Don’t over-thicken it
When testing this recipe, I found it better to use the cornstarch slurry as an adjustment rather than relying on it for all the thickness. The crushed corn has already given the soup plenty of body, and the egg will add a little more thickness at the end.
Freeze the leftovers
This soup freezes well, so you can make a larger batch and keep some for another meal. Store it in a freezer-safe container. When you are ready to serve it, thaw the soup, add a little water to loosen it, and bring it back to a boil before serving.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting the chicken too large
The chicken should be very finely diced or coarsely minced. Large pieces will make the soup feel more like a chicken soup with corn rather than 雞茸粟米羹.
Letting the chicken clump
Don’t add the minced chicken directly into the pot. First loosen it with some hot soup, then return it to the pot so the chicken disperses evenly.
Blending all the corn
Keep roughly half of the kernels whole. Crushing all the corn will give you a much smoother soup and take away the whole-kernel texture.
Using too much cornstarch
The soup should be thick but still flowing. Add the slurry gradually and stop once you reach about 80% of the final thickness.
Adding too much salt
Commercial chicken stocks can vary considerably in saltiness. Check the stock before adding the full amount of salt and adjust it to taste.
Thickening the soup too much before adding the egg
The beaten egg will add some thickness of its own. If the soup is already very thick before the egg goes in, the finished soup can become too heavy.
Variations
Crab meat: Replace the chicken with crab meat to make a Cantonese-style crab and corn soup. The delicate sweetness of crab works particularly well with the corn.
Mushroom and chicken: Add mushrooms to the chicken and corn combination for another variation. The mushrooms add a different texture and a more pronounced savory flavor.
Corn soup without chicken: Omit the chicken and make a simple corn and egg soup instead. The crushed corn still provides the body of the soup, while the whole kernels and egg give it plenty of texture.
More Recipes to Try
ABC Soup
If you enjoy mild, home-style Chinese soups, my ABC Soup is another good one to try. It combines chicken or pork ribs with tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes for a simple and comforting family soup.
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
For something with a bolder flavor, try my Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. Vinegar, white pepper, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and egg give this soup a distinctly sour and spicy character.
Hong Kong-Style Borscht Soup
My Hong Kong-Style Borscht Soup is a completely different kind of comfort soup, with beef and vegetables cooked in a tomato-based broth. It is another example of the distinctive soups you can find in Hong Kong-style home cooking.
Quick Takeaways
Hong Kong-style 雞茸粟米羹 is a chicken and corn soup made without cream. Finely minced chicken, fresh corn, and egg give it its characteristic texture, while coarsely crushing half of the corn provides natural body and keeping the other half whole gives the soup some texture.
For the best result, loosen the minced chicken with hot soup before adding it to the pot, and add the cornstarch slurry gradually rather than making the soup too thick too early. Aim for a soup that is thick but still flowing, not overly thick or gluey.
Hong Kong-Style Chicken and Corn Soup
Make Hong Kong-style chicken and corn soup with fresh corn, finely minced chicken, and egg. A creamy-textured soup without using cream.
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 200g boneless chicken breast, preferably skinless
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cold water
- 1 tsp neutral cooking oil
Soup
- 1000ml good-quality chicken stock
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste depending on the stock
- ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
- About 400g fresh sweet corn kernels from roughly 3 cobs
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cut the corn cobs in half and remove the kernels with a sharp knife over a large dish or tray. Scrape the bare cobs with the back of the knife to collect the remaining corn juice and pulp.
- Divide the corn into two roughly equal portions. Coarsely crush or blend half and keep the other half whole.
- Finely dice or coarsely mince the chicken breast. Mix with salt, white pepper, cornstarch, cold water, and oil.
- Mix the cornstarch with cold water to make the slurry. Beat the egg and slice the green onion into thin rings.
- Add the crushed and whole corn to the chicken stock. Season with salt and white pepper and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Ladle some hot soup into the minced chicken and stir well to loosen it. Return the chicken and liquid to the pot.
- Continue simmering gently until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Stir the cornstarch slurry and add it gradually while stirring. Stop when the soup reaches about 80% of the desired final thickness.
- Reduce the heat and slowly drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring gently to create fine egg ribbons.
- Add the sesame oil and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Garnish with sliced green onion and serve hot.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 279mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 19g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 10/6/2026
Hi, I’m KP Kwan. Please leave your questions here if you’d like to ask me anything about this recipe. I’ll be happy to help and will reply as soon as possible.