Egg Drop Soup
Egg Drop Soup is the quickest and easiest soup you’ll ever make- on your table in less than 15 minutes! Egg Drop Soup is a healthy Chinese soup that is easy to make at home with minimal ingredients and prep. It is made with a savory, salty chicken stock base seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, pepper and green onions. Raw eggs are streamed into the hot seasoned broth to instantaneously create tender, wispy egg “noodles” – magic before your eyes! This Egg Drop Soup recipe is warm and comforting, flavorful but not overpowering, creamy yet light and soothing all at the same time. It’s also customizable by adding protein or veggies. I’ve included a recipe video on How to Make Egg Drop Soup as well as tips and tricks for the Best Egg Drop Soup recipe. Now, let’s hear it for restaurant-style Egg Drop Soup bursting with flavor, all cooked in one pot for an easy meal any day of the week!
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions plus more for garnish
- Additional Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk eggs together in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Whisk together all the ingredients except eggs and green onions in a medium saucepan until smooth (OFF HEAT).
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and stir the stock in one direction with a fork to create a "whirlpool" effect.
- Slowly drizzle the whisked eggs into the stock while continuing to stir the soup in the same direction. The eggs will spread and feather into ribbons.
- Remove from heat and stir in green onions. Taste (careful it will be hot!) and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Garnish individual servings with additional sesame oil if desired (careful, a little goes a long way!). Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Don't miss the "how to make" recipe video at the top of the post!
Tips and Tricks for the Best Egg Drop Soup
- Use high quality ingredients. With so few ingredients, it is important to use quality ingredients, especially quality chicken stock. It will give you the maximum flavor.
- Use a liquid measuring cup. The spout will make the eggs easy to pour in a thin stream. If you don’t have a liquid measuring cup, you can add them to a anything with a spout like a pitcher or transfer to a plastic bag and snip a tiny corner off.
- Fully dissolve cornstarch off heat. Do not turn the heat on until the cornstarch is fully dissolved otherwise it will stay clumpy and never dissolve.
- Stir stock. Stir the stock/broth occasionally while it comes to a boil so the cornstarch doesn’t settle at the bottom.
- Stir stock slowly when adding eggs. You can stir the stock as rapidly as you like to create the whirlpool, but you’ll want to slow down once you start adding the eggs, otherwise they can dissolve into almost unrecognizable wisps.
- Speed of stirring = thickness of egg flowers. The speed at which you stir the stock when adding the eggs will determine how thin or thick your egg ribbons “egg flowers” are. For small, thin egg flowers, stir more quickly (but remember, not too rapidly), for thicker, even chunkier egg ribbons, stir more slowly. You can also vary your stirring speed to create a variety of thin and thick egg flowers.
- Slowly add eggs. You don’t want to add the eggs too quickly or it will lower the temperature of the broth. We want the broth to stay nice and hot so the eggs almost instantaneously cook which helps them feather into long ribbons and not clump.
- Serve immediately. Part of the charm of Egg Drop Soup is the sensation of hot broth paired with the silky egg flowers AKA it is best served right away.
Egg Drop Soup Recipe Variations
This Egg Drop Soup can be a springboard for a number of variations. Keep in mind you will want to use additional broth/stock if you add either veggies or protein and the correct ratio of additional cornstarch. Here are a just a few ideas:- Add protein: tofu, shrimp, chicken and ground pork would all be delicious additions.
- Add vegetables: corn kernels and mushrooms are often added to Egg Drop Soup. It would also be delicious with peas, zucchini, broccoli, edamame, bok choy, spinach, bell peppers, etc.
- Tomatoes: stir into the Egg Drop Soup after the cornstarch dissolves but before you bring it to a boil.
- Garnish: get creative in the garnish by adding crispy wontons, crushed peanuts, etc.
- Gluten Free Egg Drop Soup: The only ingredient that contains gluten is the soy sauce but that’s an easy swap. To make Gluten Free Egg Drop Soup, substitute the soy sauce for tamari or gluten free soy sauce.
Prep Ahead Egg Drop Soup
Egg Drop Soup is best served immediately so it is not recommended to prepare the soup in its entirety ahead of time. Instead, you can:- whisk together all of the stock ingredients, cover and refrigerate
- whisk together all of the eggs, cover and refrigerate
- chop green onions and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator
Can you reheat egg drop soup?
Egg Drop Soup is best eaten right away as the eggs don’t maintain the same texture when reheated. That being said, you can still reheat Egg Drop Soup, just be aware it’s not like most soups that get better with time. Take care when reheating to not heat at too high of heat – you don’t want to scramble the eggs or they can get rubbery. Low and slow is the name of the game.- Stove: heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through.
- Microwave: transfer individual servings of Egg Drop Soup to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then warm at 15-second intervals, as needed, taking care not to over-heat.