Chef Amy Thielen on cooking comfort food

You might have noticed that flour and eggs can be hard to come by at certain stores. With millions of Americans staying at home, many have turned to stress baking.

But there’s more to the trend than cookies and sourdough starters.

The physical act of baking or scratch cooking can be just as comforting as the food itself.

Chef and author Amy Thielen talks with MPR host Kerri Miller about comfort food at 9 a.m. Thursday. One food that brings Thielen comfort is her Hot-and-Sauer Egg Drop Soup.

Hot-and-Sauer Egg Drop Soup

Serves one to two

• 2 cups chicken stock

• 3 dried Chinese chiles

• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and smashed

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

• 1 egg

• Pinch of salt, plus to taste

• Pinch of sugar

• 2/3 cup brined sauerkraut (such as Bubbie’s), with juice

• Drops of Chinese chili oil, to taste

Combine the chicken stock, dried chiles, ginger, and soy sauce in a saucepot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes, or until you can taste the chiles and ginger in the broth.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Bring the broth to a rolling boil and add the egg all at once. Cook for just 30 seconds to set the egg, and then remove from the heat.

Add the sauerkraut and juice, and the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil, and let the soup steep for a few minutes. Taste for seasoning; if you use lightly salted or homemade chicken stock, you may need to correct it with a bit of salt.

Fish out the ginger and chiles and discard, and serve the soup in bowls garnished with a few drops of hot chili oil.

Guest: Amy Thielen is a chef, writer and author of the cookbook “The New Midwestern Table.” Her memoir is “Give a Girl a Knife.” 

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts , Spotify or RSS.