Corn Soup with Quail Eggs

Corn Soup with Quail Eggs is a Filipino corn soup made with cream-style sweet corn, soft egg ribbons, and boiled quail eggs. The cream-style corn gives the broth a little thickness without using milk or cream, while the quail eggs make each bowl more filling than my egg drop soup.

I like using fresh quail eggs for this whenever I can find them. I boil and peel them first because that takes more time than cooking the soup itself. Once they are ready, the corn only needs a short simmer before I thicken the broth and pour in the beaten egg.

I add the quail eggs at the very end with the stove already off. They are already cooked, so they only need a few minutes in the hot soup to warm through. This keeps the whites tender instead of letting them turn firm and rubbery.

What is Corn Soup with Quail Eggs?

Corn Soup with Quail Eggs is sweet and mild. Hototay is the other Filipino soup I make that finishes with egg, though there the egg is cracked whole into each bowl and the hot broth cooks it.

Suam na mais uses white corn kernels with pork or shrimp and leafy greens, and the broth stays thin. My version is the opposite. The cream-style corn makes it smooth from the start, and there are boiled quail eggs in it instead of pork or shrimp.

Quail eggs, or itlog ng pugo, are everywhere in Filipino cooking. Vendors sell them boiled with a small packet of salt, street stalls batter and deep fry them into kwek kwek, and home cooks drop them into giniling and chopsuey.

Ingredients

• Quail eggs – Two dozen sounds like a lot until you see the size of them. That comes out to about five per bowl across five servings, which is the amount I like.
• Cream-style sweet corn – One 15-ounce can. Check the substitutions below before you reach for whole kernel corn.
• Chicken broth – Low sodium if you have it. Some brands are much saltier than others, which changes how much salt you need at the end.
• Water – Keep a little extra nearby, since some of the liquid cooks off during the simmer.
• Green onions – Chop the white and green parts together. A generous amount is right here, because the corn is sweet and the green onions keep the bowl from tasting flat.
• Egg – Beat it until no streaks of white are left. Streaks turn into thick clumps in the pot instead of thin ribbons.
• Cornstarch – Dilute it in cold water, never warm. Stir the mixture again right before it goes in, since the starch settles within a minute.
• Salt and ground black pepper – Season after the corn has simmered, when the broth already tastes the way it will in the bowl.

Fresh quail eggs are sold by the tray in Asian groceries and in most wet markets, usually cheaper than you expect, while the canned ones sit near the water chestnuts and baby corn. To boil them, get the water going first, then lower the eggs in one at a time so the shells do not crack against each other, the same way I do for my sipo eggs. Three to three and a half minutes is enough. Turn off the heat, let them cool in the water, and start peeling from the wider end.

The corn simmers for fifteen minutes, the thickening and the egg take about three more, and the pot rests for five with the quail eggs in it. Beat the egg and dilute the cornstarch during the simmer so both are sitting ready.

1. Combine the chicken broth and water in a cooking pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Add the cream-style sweet corn. Stir and let the mixture return to a boil, then cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes, adding a little water if needed.

Give the corn the full fifteen minutes. Straight from the can it tastes flat and a little tinny, and the simmer takes that away.

1. Stir the cornstarch mixture, then pour it slowly into the pot while stirring. Cook for 1 minute, or until the soup thickens slightly.
2. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Stir and keep the soup at a gentle simmer.

Stop while the soup still looks a little thinner than you want to serve it. The soup keeps thickening after the heat goes off, and the pot will be noticeably thicker by the time it reaches the table.

1. Stir the soup slowly in one direction to create a gentle whirlpool, then pour the beaten egg into the moving broth in a thin, steady stream.
2. Let it cook without stirring for about 15 seconds, then stir gently once or twice to separate the egg ribbons.

A hard boil breaks the egg into cloudy specks instead of ribbons. Keep it at that gentle simmer, and pour from a little higher up so the stream stays thin.

1. Add the boiled quail eggs and half of the green onions. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the soup sit for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the remaining green onions. Serve warm. Share and enjoy!

Lower the quail eggs in with a spoon instead of tipping them from the bowl.

What to Serve with Corn Soup with Quail Eggs

• Rice – Spoon the soup over a small mound of rice if you want it to be lunch rather than a starter.
• Chicken Adobo – Salty and sour, which is what I want on the table when the soup is sweet.
• Baked pork chops – I usually put a soup like this out with baked or fried pork, and the two make a full meal with rice.
• Pandesal – For the mornings when you make this for breakfast. The bread soaks up the thick broth well.
• Steamed siomai – A few pieces on the side make this filling enough for lunch.

Storage

Corn Soup with Quail Eggs gets thicker after chilling, but it loosens up again when reheated.

• Refrigerator – Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I usually reheat only what we plan to eat so the rest stays in better shape.
• Freezer – If I know I will freeze some, I stop before adding the cornstarch and eggs. Freeze the corn broth on its own for up to 2 months.
• Reheating – I warm it over low heat on the stove, stirring often. If the soup is too thick, I add a little water or broth until it loosens up. For one bowl, the microwave works fine too.

More Filipino Soup Recipes

• Chicken and Corn Soup – Cream-style corn again, this time with ground chicken and ginger in the pot.
• Corn and Malunggay Soup – White corn kernels and malunggay leaves in a clear chicken broth.
• Ginarep – A Bicol soup of shrimp, corn, and malunggay.
• Corn Chowder – The thick, dairy-based way to cook corn soup, with potatoes and bacon.
• Hot and Sour Soup – Peppery and vinegary, thickened with a slurry and finished with beaten egg.
• Chicken Lomi – A thick noodle soup for when you want a heavier bowl.

• Quail eggs – Canned quail eggs work when fresh ones are not around. Drain and rinse them, then add them at the same point in the recipe. Four to five boiled chicken eggs, cut in half, come close to two dozen quail eggs in volume.
• Cream-style sweet corn – Use a 15-ounce can of whole kernel corn. Blend half of it with half a cup of the broth until smooth, then add the blended part and the whole kernels to the pot together.
• Chicken broth – Replace both the chicken broth and the water with 3 cups of water and 1 chicken bouillon cube. Vegetable broth keeps the soup meatless.
• Cornstarch – Use 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour whisked into cold water in place of the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Give it a minute longer on the heat so the flour does not taste raw.
• Green onions – Leave them out if you have none. Malunggay makes a different version of this soup rather than a direct swap, so add it with the quail eggs after the heat is off if you want to go that way.

I usually serve Corn Soup with Quail Eggs in small bowls before the main dish, especially when we have fried fish or pork chops with rice. I also make it for breakfast on cooler mornings when I feel like having something warm.