Make the restaurant-style Chinese egg drop soup with the minimum ingredients, within 15 minutes, and without any fuss. {Gluten-Free}
Soup is an important element on a Chinese family’s dinner table. Back in Beijing when I was living with my parents, my mom would serve soup every day along with steamed rice, stir fried seasonal vegetables and a meat dish. Egg drop soup was always her first choice.
Cooking egg drop soup only takes 15 minutes, but you get a hearty soup that tastes way better than the one in Chinese restaurants.
You don’t need to add tons of spices like star anise and cloves because it overpowers the delicate egg flavor. I was astounded to see some egg drop soup recipes call for 6 to 7 spices. It’s unimaginable. We’re cooking a quick side dish here, not Vietnamese pho.
You only need some fresh green onions and ginger. That’s it. They bring out the sweetness of the egg without the taste being overwhelming.
Cooking notes
Fresh aromatics is the key
The key to make the soup more flavorful is to bring the soup to a boil and let it cook with the ginger and green onion for at least 10 minutes to release the flavor. That’s it. You don’t even need to chop the ginger. Just add a whole slice and you can fish it out and discard it before you serve the soup.
Thicken the soup before adding eggs
When you’re ready to add the rest of the ingredients, turn down the heat to let the broth simmer gently. Whisk in cornstarch slurry to lightly thicken the broth. By thickening the broth first, the eggs won’t think to the bottom when you add them, and form better egg ribbons.
How to create the perfect egg ribbons
Slowly add the beaten eggs by using a fork to slow the flow. DO NOT STIR! Let the eggs sits for a few seconds, then use a pair of chopsticks to break them apart to your liking. Stirring the soup too fast will break apart the eggs into tiny pieces and cloud the soup.
Final touch
Drizzle with a few drops of sesame oil. You will get the most comforting soup with a silky texture and delicious eggs bits.
That’s it.
There is no fuss about making a hearty egg drop soup that tastes even better than the one in a Chinese restaurant.
How to alter egg drop soup
There are a few things you can do to make your daily soup taste a bit different.
- Add 1 to 2 chopped tomatoes at the beginning. (One of my mom’s favorites – it makes the soup refreshing and changes the taste.)
- You can add a handful vegetables, such as bok choy, spinach, mushrooms, or cucumber (sounds weird, but it works). But remember that less is more.
- Add corn and peas to make it a corn soup (and you can add ground chicken to make it richer).
- Add a few soaked dried shrimp at the beginning, to infuse more umami flavor to the soup. My mom uses this method with some chicken bouillon when we don’t have chicken stock at home. If you use chicken stock and dried shrimp, the soup will taste even better.
More comforting Chinese soup recipes
- Hot and Sour Soup
- Winter Melon Soup with Meatball
- Wonton Soup
- Chinese Oxtail Soup
- Napa Cabbage Soup with Meatballs
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Chinese Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 green onions , chopped, white and green parts separated
- 1 slice ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (or to taste)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder , for the yellow color (Optional)
- 4 large eggs , beaten (Footnote 1)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Instructions
- Combine the chicken broth, the white part of the green onion and ginger in a small pot. Cook over high heat until brought to a boil. Turn to a low heat and let the soup reduce to a simmer.
- Combine cornstarch, white pepper, turmeric, sea salt and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Whisk until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Swirl into the soup and mix well with a spatula.
- To add eggs, hold a fork (or two chopsticks slightly apart) across the top of a small bowl, drizzle the egg mixture slowly through the gaps into the soup. Let the eggs set for a few seconds, then stir gently to break up the egg to the desired sized pieces.
- Drizzle sesame oil and sprinkle with the green part of the green onion.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- If you want the egg ribbons look even better, try to use 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites. Adding more egg white will make the egg ribbons more consistent. If you have leftover egg whites from baking, now it's a good chance to use them!
Video
Nutrition
Easy, delicious and so comforting! I added some cubed soft tofu and baby spinach leaves to make this a complete meal. I am a 65 year old ABC and I can’t believe I never made this at home. I used frozen homemade chicken stock from Passover ( hubby is Jewish) and it was terrific. Thank you Maggie.
I not only love this recipe but I love how easy you make people realize just how easy it is to cook meals for our family. We don’t need fast junk food in our lives thank you again.
I made this recipe last night for dinner. It was so good my wife wanted the leftovers again this morning for breakfast! I added a handful of sliced mushrooms, otherwise followed the recipe. I too will probably cut back a little on the sesame oil next time but it is a great recipe otherwise. I look forward to future recipes from you!!!
Chinese Egg Drop Soup was soooooooo nice.I had all ingredients except turmeric powder but I will get next food order as live Sydney Australia and are in lockdown covid 19.I will try different things in soup.
Been wanting to learn how to do this..am sure i and family will love. Thank you so much!
I love this recipe but I love the hot and sour soup recipe even more!!! and for desert you make the best cinnnimon rolls ever!!!! OMG! So glad I found your sight! Thank you …Marji
I loved this! So quick and easy to follow, and I found the additional tips really helpful. I didn’t have any corn starch so just substituted plain flour which seemed to work fine but I’ll try doing it ‘properly’ soon and see how it compares. This is going to be a regular dish!
I Love, love your recipes. I would like to purchase a carving knife like the one used on your videos. This knife looks so easy to use. Can you tell me the brand, please
I think the knife I used in that video was a Global Santoku knife.
First time I’ve made and tasted this soup. Really easy to make thanks to your excellent instructions and helpful notes. Thank you!
Next time however I will add a little chili oil, it was a bit bland for my taste..
Can’t wait to try the next recipe!
My favorite soup! Girl the way you made it was so beautiful and the flavors are just blowing me away.
Loved this – so simple and quick plus nutricious
This is very yummy my first time making this type of soup and it turned out great Thanx for the recipe
I loved this recipe
Last night, I signed up for your 5-day Chinese Cooking Crash Course and made your Shrimp Egg Foo Young (鲜虾芙蓉蛋) for our very late night dinner. My wife and I both love Egg Foo Young, and your recipe was definitely a winner. I was delighted to discover that the Shrimp Egg Foo Young wasn’t actually part of your 5-day course, so our actual first recipe was today’s Egg Drop Soup which I have never made before, and absolutely loved it. We are both so excited that we will be having home-made restaurant quality Chinese Food for dinner every night for the next 5 days. Thank you for this.
Made it, wife said it was Deeeeeelicious.
Can this go in a crockpot
Yes!
So excited to find Hot and Sour Soup. Mine and my husbands favorite Chinese soup. Thank you, thank you, thank you cannot wait to try this recipe!!!!
What I love about your recipes is that they are simple and fast for someone to complete at home, with easily accessible ingredients. How about some Cantonese yum cha, like how to make that dumpling dough, and especially Char siu sou ?
I’m glad to hear you like the recipe 🙂
You can find more Cantonese recipes here: https://omnivorescookbook.com/tag/cantonese-cuisine/
Great Recipe!! I had some frozen wontons that I added in along with fresh red bell pepper, frozen corn, chicken and mushrooms – really good!! Thank you for the recipe.
My family loves this quick and easy soup, I will totally make it again.