What if I told you that you could make homemade Egg Drop Soup just as easy as ordering it from your favorite Chinese take out restaurant? It’s true! Keep reading to find out how easy it is.
It is one of many folks favorite items to order at a Chinese food restaurant, whether they are grabbing take-out or dining in. Egg Drop Soup.
While I love Chinese Dumplings and I’m always in the mood for fried rice, I can’t order take out without getting a cup of my favorite soup! But I can’t be ordering takeout every day, so I figured it was high time to create my own recipe!
What is egg drop soup?
The mysteries surrounding it are vast, but ultimately, it is one of the most simple and straightforward recipes you can get. Broth. Seasonings. Egg.
So how do they get that beautifully wispy egg in a simple egg drop soup? Whisking! The trick is to whisk the egg before adding so you don’t have separated whites and yolks and to whisk while you add it to the broth to create tony little strands as opposed to one large poached egg.
Some recipes are nothing but broth and egg with a touch of soy sauce, but I like to add a little more to mine. I also happen to love a good miso soup, which commonly has thinly sliced mushrooms, so I opted to include these in my Egg Drop Soup recipe.
Ingredients
Most of these are common ingredients that you might already have on hand. If not, they’re easily found at your local grocery store.
- Chicken broth – You can make homemade chicken broth, or buy some from the grocery store. I prefer the flavor of chicken broth, but you can use vegetable broth or vegetable stock to make it a vegetarian egg drop soup if you prefer.
- Soy sauce – Any time I use soy sauce, I always use the low sodium version. It’s easier to add more salt to this simple soup if needed, and much harder to take it out.
- Cornstarch – We will use a cornstarch slurry to thicken our delicious soup up a bit. Make sure not to use too much, or your soup will become too thick.
- Shiitake mushrooms – I’ve found that these are the best mushrooms to use for this easy meal. The texture and flavor- pure magic!
- Scallions – I use only the green part for my soup, but the white parts can definitely be a great addition as well.
- Eggs – Also sometimes referred to as egg flower soup, the beaten egg will form small egg flowers if you will in the hot broth as it cooks. Make sure to use raw eggs.
- Dash white pepper – I use white pepper instead of black pepper to keep the flavor more mild, but you can use black pepper instead if you’d like.
How to Make Egg Drop Soup
- First, you need to heat the chicken broth and soy sauce in a large saucepan.
- Once the broth is hot, ladle a small amount of it into a small bowl. Whisk with one teaspoon of cornstarch, then pour the entire mixture back in the saucepan.
- If you’d like to, add sliced mushrooms and scallions to the chicken stock, and allow to simmer long enough for the vegetables to soften.
- While continually stirring, slowly pour in the beaten eggs.
Paired with mild scallions or green onions and white pepper to not speckle the broth, this is a winning homemade egg drop soup!
Variations
There are many ways to make this hot soup your own. Here are a few of my suggestions.
- Extra flavor – There aren’t many things that give this popular chinese soup it’s flavor, so here are a few more suggestions: fresh ginger, scallion whites or black pepper.
- Substance – Besides the mushrooms and beautiful egg ribbons, this soup is pretty basic. To add more substance, try adding wonton strips, silken tofu or even diced chicken.
- How to serve – We usually serve this as a side dish, but you can add in some chicken to make it a main course. Serve with more of your favorite asian recipes like an egg roll.
Storage, Reheating and Freezing
Storage: You can store this classic egg drop soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Reheating: You can either throw it in the microwave, or heat it up in a saucepan on the stove. It is easy and perfect for meal prep or bringing to the office for lunch.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this particular recipe. The mushrooms and scallions won’t reheat properly, and you’ll end up with a wonky soup. The eggs might also get slimy when thawing.
If you liked this simple Egg Drop Soup, you might also like these soup recipes:
- Healthy Cabbage Soup
- Short Rib Soup
- Old Fashioned Turkey Soup
- Spicy Crab Soup
- Tuscan Ravioli Soup
- Chicken Pho
Here are some of my other favorite Chinese recipes that would go well with this soup:
Egg Drop Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup shiitake mushrooms , sliced
- ½ cup scallions , chopped
- 2 eggs , lightly beaten
- Dash white pepper
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat chicken broth and soy sauce.
- When hot, ladle out a small amount, about ¼ cup or less, and whisk with 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Whisk cornstarch mixture back into soup.
- Add sliced mushrooms and scallions, allow to low simmer for 2 minutes, so they soften slightly.
- While stirring, slowly pour in eggs. Since the mixture is hot, they should cook as soon as they hit the liquid creating wispy eggs.
- Add a dash of white pepper and serve immediately.
- Garnish with additional scallions, if desired.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Nutrition
This homemade egg drop soup is looks and sounds better than any restaurant version I’ve had. I am excited to try this recipe.
I love all the mushrooms in this. Such a comforting soup.
I love how the recipe turned out, it was very comforting and a hit in my family. Thank you.
This homemade egg drop soup is now one of my favorites! Much better than takeout!
Love how quick this soup is to make. Perfect for a tasty lunch!
I love the addition of shiitake in your egg drop soup. It adds much needed meatiness which I prefer to the regular soup without it.
I made this for my husband..he loved it. Thank you
Whenever it’s asian night, I always have a side of egg drop soup! This recipe was so easy to follow and perfect as a side soup 🙂
So tasty! Love how simple this is to make at home!
This looks great! I haven’t had egg drop soup for years so thank you for this reminder. I’ll have to make it!