Chicken and leek barley soup
A warm chicken soup with soft leeks, carrots and pearl barley.
About 55 min · 405 kcal · 36 g protein per serving
Chicken, sweetcorn and egg drop soup
A clear chicken and sweetcorn broth with egg stirred through in ribbons.
By The foodose editorial team. Nutrition calculated from USDA FoodData Central. Checked on paper on 21 September 2026; not yet cooked in a test kitchen or photographed, so the times and yield are estimates. How we develop our recipes
What still needs a real kitchen
- Confirm whole breasts poach through in 14 to 16 minutes at a bare simmer
- Confirm the egg sets in ribbons after 20 undisturbed seconds
- Photograph the finished bowl
- Time
- About 35 min
- estimated
- Serves
- 2
- see below
- Energy
- 330 kcal
- per serving
- Protein
- 41 g
- per serving
Ingredients for 2 servings
Check off ingredients as you go.
Contains eggs, gluten, soya. Check the labels on packaged ingredients:
- chicken stock. Stock often contains celery, and sometimes gluten or soya; check the label.
- soy sauce. Most soy sauce contains wheat. Tamari is the usual wheat-free alternative; check the label.
Cooking steps
Bring the stock to a bare simmer with the sliced ginger.
Lower in the chicken breasts whole and poach for 14 to 16 minutes, never letting it boil.
Cooked when: 74°C / 165°F in the thickest part. A food thermometer is the reliable way to tell.
Lift the chicken onto a board, rest it for 5 minutes and shred it with two forks.
Add the sweetcorn to the pot and bring it back to a gentle simmer.
Beat the eggs in a jug. Stir the soup so it is moving, then pour the egg in a thin steady stream, and stop stirring for 20 seconds while it sets into ribbons.
Cooked when: the eggs are firm throughout, with no visible liquid egg.
Return the chicken, stir in the soy sauce off the heat and finish with the chopped chives.
The useful detail
Pour the egg in a thin stream into moving soup, then leave it alone for twenty seconds. Poured in a lump it sets as a lump, and stirred immediately it disappears and clouds the broth.
Make it work for you
One serving is A deep bowl, half the pot. You can switch to a smaller portion in the ingredients above; it is three quarters of this, and it contains correspondingly less energy and protein. It is an option, not a goal.
Turkey breast instead of chicken
Leaner and firmer when shredded. Give it a couple of minutes more.
Per serving: about 10 kcal less, about 1 g more protein, about 1 g less fat.
Vegetable stock instead of chicken
Lighter, and the ginger comes forward.
Per serving: about 5 kcal less, about 2 g less protein, about 1 g less fat.
Tamari instead of soy sauce
The same flavour, usually wheat-free.
Allergens: Check the label if you avoid gluten.
Estimated nutrition
Per standard serving, calculated from the ingredients above. Nutrition changes with substitutions, brands and how much oil stays in the pan.
The lightest dinner in this collection by calories and one of the highest in protein, which is a useful combination on a day when nothing heavy appeals.
| Energy | 330 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 41 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| of which saturates | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 19 g |
| of which sugars | 7 g |
| Fibre | 2 g |
| Sodium | 2,450 mg |
Show calculation notes
Each ingredient’s weight is multiplied by its USDA FoodData Central values per 100 g. The whole recipe is added up and divided by 2. Raw weights are used for meat, fish and vegetables; beans and lentils are drained weights. All of the oil is counted as eaten. Added salt is not included; sodium from stock, bread, cheese and tinned food is.
| Ingredient | Weight used | Source | Energy | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| chicken stock | 945 g | FDC 174536Soup, chicken broth, ready-to-serve | 57 kcal | 6.1 g |
| fresh ginger | 15 g | FDC 169231Ginger root, raw | 12 kcal | 0.3 g |
| chicken breast | 250 g | FDC 171077Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, raw | 300 kcal | 56.3 g |
| sweetcorn | 200 g | FDC 169214Corn, sweet, yellow, canned, whole kernel, drained solids | 134 kcal | 4.6 g |
| eggs | 100 g | FDC 171287Egg, whole, raw, fresh | 143 kcal | 12.6 g |
| soy sauce | 20 g | FDC 172473Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu), low sodium | 11 kcal | 1.8 g |
| chives | 10 g | FDC 169994Chives, raw | 3 kcal | 0.3 g |
| Whole recipe | Divided by 2 | 660 kcal | 81.9 g |
Per serving the energy is rounded to the nearest 5 kcal, grams to the nearest whole gram and sodium to the nearest 10 mg. Calculation method 1.0, September 2026. How the calculation works.
Storage and reheating
- In the fridge
- Cool it quickly, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours. The FDA chart gives soups and stews 3 to 4 days. The egg ribbons toughen slightly on reheating but the soup is otherwise good for 3 to 4 days.
- In the freezer
- The same chart gives soups and stews 2 to 3 months in the freezer for best quality.
- Reheating
- Reheat until it reaches 74°C / 165°F, steaming hot throughout, stirring so it heats evenly.
Checked against US Food and Drug Administration, Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, Leftovers and Food Safety, FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures and FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart. UK guidance from the Food Standards Agency is shorter, at two days for most leftovers.
Try another recipe
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Roasted squash and white beans blended into a smooth sage soup.
About 50 min · 345 kcal · 20 g protein per serving
Vegetarian