Transform Canned Chicken Noodle Soup With This Tasty Breakfast Staple

Canned chicken noodle soup is an inexpensive and simple indulgence — perfect for those who are sick or who simply want an easy, warm, nostalgic meal. While chicken noodle soup is the perfect comfort food, that doesn't mean it can't benefit from a little upgrade. If you're looking to spice up your favorite store-bought chicken soup, there's an easy and low-cost way to do it. All you need is a raw egg and a source of heat to make it happen.

While there are high- and low-quality canned chicken noodle soups on the market, just about all of them can be improved with a little egg. To perform this easy hack, bring the soup's contents to a boil on the stove, as per its instructions. While it's heating, gently beat an egg in a bowl. Remove the soup from the heat and slowly stir the egg into the soup. The residual heat in the soup will cook the egg, leaving savory ribbons throughout the broth. 

Alternatively, you can crack a whole egg right on top of the soup and let it poach without mixing. Before sipping your soup, you can break the egg open and stir the soft yolk into the broth to make it richer. If you want to get really fancy, you can also slowly add hot broth to the egg while whisking vigorously to temper it. The end result will be a creamy, thickened broth, without the need for milk or flour. All three of these methods work well, depending on how much time you're willing to spend on dressing up this simple canned staple.

While this may be a popular hack online today, adding an egg to soup has a long history. Egg drop soup originated in China under the Mandarin name "Dan Hua Tang." It was first recorded during the Han Dynasty sometime around 206 BCE, though it likely existed before that in regional cuisine. The United States, as well as other parts of Asia, snapped up this idea over the centuries, making subtle changes to the straightforward recipe. No matter the adjustments, this type of soup generally involves a salty broth and an egg, keeping it a low-cost but delicious dish. It's no wonder that even today's college students crack an egg into instant ramen to make a filling egg drop soup on a budget.

This soup's long tradition remains thanks to the flavor and health benefits of eggs, which are great for keeping the immune system strong — something that complements chicken noodle soup's traditional place as a sick-person comfort dish. Egg yolk is incredibly high in protein and rich in other nutrients such as vitamins B, D, and A, all of which aid in a healthy lifestyle.

Speaking of richness, egg yolks are naturally high in the acid that creates umami flavor. Because of this, anything you add egg to takes on a luxurious, flavorful profile. If used as a thickener, an egg gives broth a silky, smooth mouthfeel. No matter how you look at it, eggs really are all they're cracked up to be, especially when it comes to blending them with the salty, tasty richness of soup. You can even have chicken noodle soup for breakfast when you add this single ingredient.