Why it works: Chicken and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,814 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Egg Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Combine water, bouillon, parsley, and onion flakes in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil.
Lightly beat the eggs together.
Gradually stir the beaten eggs into the boiling soup.
Thicken and finish
Remove about half a cup of the soup. Stir in cornstarch until there are no lumps, then return the mixture to the soup. Boil until the soup thickens.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Parsley + oniontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,843 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Chicken + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,666 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Parsley + corntop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together943 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Onion + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,205 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into soft ribbons in the hot broth, giving the soup body and richness.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the broth as it boils, so the soup becomes slightly viscous.
- Chicken bouillon
- Provides the main savory flavor and salt base of the soup.
The step that matters
Gradually stir the beaten eggs into the boiling soup. Adding eggs slowly while stirring spreads them out so they form fine ribbons instead of clumping into large cooked lumps.
Swap the parsley
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, onion, corn):
- Garlicfits better
- Cuminfits better
- Tarragonfits about as well
- Parsleythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, onion, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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