Some cooking techniques sound more daunting than they actually are. ‘Tempering’ is one of them. If a recipe instructed you to ‘temper an egg’, would you know what to do?
Fear not; that’s why The Armenian Kitchen is here! Not only will we share the definition of ‘tempering’ with you, we have a new video which demonstrates how this technique is applied to one of our favorite recipes – Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon and Egg. It’s delicious, and so easy to make.
The Definition: ‘Tempering eggs’ means to raise the temperature of beaten eggs or egg yolks so they won’t curdle when hot ingredients are added to them.
This is an Armenian version of the popular lemon and egg soup, known as Avgolemono in Greece. It requires tempering the egg, which results in a creamy rich texture.
Course Soup
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 25 minutesminutes
Servings 4servings
Ingredients
4½cupschicken broth or stock
1wholelemonjuiced
1handfulshort, thin dry noodlescrushed vermicelli can work too
2egg yolks
¾cupscooked, chopped chickenoptional
Instructions
Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil. Add the lemon juice and noodles; cook until noodles are tender, about 5-6 minutes. If noodles have absorbed too much of the broth, add another cup. Add the pre-cooked chicken pieces, if using, and cook one more minute. Remove pot from heat.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks.
To temper the egg mixture: Slowly ladle a little of the hot chicken broth into the beaten eggs, whisking constantly, to prevent the egg yolks from cooking. Add another ladle or two of the hot broth into the egg, continuing to beat constantly.
Once the egg yolks are tempered, slowly stir the egg mixture into the soup. The tempered eggs will thicken the soup nicely without the addition of flour or cornstarch.Serve immediately.
If it weren't for egg-lemon soup, I'm not sure my husband would have married ME (as opposed to a woman who didn't know about Egg-Lemon Soup!) The way to a man's heart, they say . . . and it sure proved true in my case!
Oh, I LOVE your comment ...how romantic!
This sounds lovely and I want to make for an ill friend. How long will it keep in the refrigerator?
To be honest, this soup recipe gets gobbled-up the day it's made in our home. The soup should last for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator after it's prepared, but I wouldn't recommend keeping it longer than that. I've never had the opportunity to try freezing this soup, and with the tempered egg in it, I would be reluctant to do so anyway. I hope this helps.
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If it weren't for egg-lemon soup, I'm not sure my husband would have married ME (as opposed to a woman who didn't know about Egg-Lemon Soup!) The way to a man's heart, they say . . . and it sure proved true in my case!
Oh, I LOVE your comment ...how romantic!
This sounds lovely and I want to make for an ill friend. How long will it keep in the refrigerator?
To be honest, this soup recipe gets gobbled-up the day it's made in our home. The soup should last for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator after it's prepared, but I wouldn't recommend keeping it longer than that. I've never had the opportunity to try freezing this soup, and with the tempered egg in it, I would be reluctant to do so anyway. I hope this helps.