As is, I'd probably rate this recipe a 2, but it's a good jumping-off point for a 5-star soup. Here's what I did: I omitted the pork, added shiitake mushrooms, used 6 cups water and 7 tbsp white miso instead of chicken broth, used 2 eggs and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, omitted the salt, and added wakame (a leafy seaweed) and bean sprouts. Next time, I'll add a few more green onions. Prepared this way, it's a flavorful soup that's full of nutrients and not too heavy. Thanks for the inspiration!

I make this soup with the same type of ingredients but in different quantity. I usually sweat some yellow onion and garlic prior to adding and browning ground beef. Then I add finely chopped celery instead of water chestnuts. You may also substitute mushrooms. I also use one cube of buillon for every cup of water used, so in this recipe, use 8 cubes. I use vegetable instead of chicken. In the end, to give the soup a little more consistency, I add a bundle of clear bean thread noodles at the end (after they have been soaked in water). I also put three eggs instead of two and add one more sheet of seaweed and top it off with some cilantro.

The consistancy of the soup was fine--the seaweed and the egg turned out well. However, for me, the broth turned out tasteless. We added some soup base that we use for soba noodles and that gave it some taste.

I absolutely LOVED this soup. I have already prepared it twice! I had a little trouble finding the Nori but a local grocery store sells sushi and had some packages in that area. The soup has such a wonderful flavor and tastes better than the soup at a restaurant. Thank you for sharing the recipe!