Egg drop soup

Bring about 1 litre chicken stock to the boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce to medium heat, add the whites of 3 spring onions, 1 peeled garlic clove, 2 tsp toasted sesame oil, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar, ½ tsp MSG (optional) and ⅛ tsp ground white pepper. Stir and simmer 10 mins, then taste for seasoning and discard the garlic and spring onion whites.

Mix 2 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water in a small bowl to make a loose paste. Stir it into the soup.

Whisk 2 eggs with the remaining 1 tsp cornflour in a small jug. Reduce the heat so the soup simmers gently, not overly bubbly, and stir in a circular motion to make a whirlpool. Working quickly, drizzle in the egg mixture while stirring continuously until the egg sets almost instantly into ribbons.

Ladle the soup into bowls and scatter over the chopped greens of 3 spring onions before serving.