🇨🇳 China · (home cooking); the English name is tied to Chinese American restaurant menus

Egg drop soup

Name: Egg drop soup
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 1 L (4 cups) chicken stock, homemade if possible; 2 slices fresh ginger, optional; 2 scallions, whites and greens separated, sliced; 3/4 tsp salt, to taste; 1/4 tsp ground white pepper; 2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 tbsp cold water; 2 to 3 large eggs, beaten until smooth; 2 tsp toasted sesame oil; 1 pinch turmeric, optional, only for colour

A seasoned, lightly thickened chicken stock into which beaten egg is drizzled while the soup is stirred, so the egg sets in ribbons.

Origin and history

A seasoned stock set with streamed egg is long-standing Chinese home cooking, called egg flower soup. The English name egg drop soup is tied to Chinese restaurant menus overseas, with English citations from the early 1900s; the sources say its origin is unclear, so no inventor or date is given.

Make it at home

Makes: 4 servings
Total time: 20 min
Hands-on: 15 min

Ingredients

Metric US

1 L4 cups chicken stock, homemade if possible
2 slices fresh ginger, optional
2 scallions, whites and greens separated, sliced
3/4 tsp salt, to taste
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
2 to 3 large eggs, beaten until smooth
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 pinch turmeric, optional, only for colour

Method

1. Put the stock, ginger and scallion whites in a pot, bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Season with the salt, white pepper and turmeric if using; taste and adjust.
3. Stir the cornstarch slurry, pour it in while stirring, and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until the soup is lightly thickened and glossy.
4. Keep the soup at a gentle simmer. Stir it slowly in one direction with a ladle and drizzle in the beaten egg in a thin stream, through a fork or a spouted cup.
5. Wait 10 to 20 seconds so the egg sets, then stir once, gently, to break it into ribbons.
6. Turn off the heat, remove the ginger, stir in the sesame oil and serve topped with the scallion greens.

Notes

Stir faster while pouring for fine threads, slower for larger ribbons. The soup must be simmering, not at a rolling boil, or the egg turns ragged.
The Chinese name 蛋花汤 means egg flower soup. At home the broth is often thinner; the starch-thickened bowl is typical of restaurant menus abroad. Use less cornstarch for a lighter soup.
Sweet corn and egg soup is a different dish. For a plain version skip the ginger and turmeric.
Best eaten at once; the egg toughens when reheated.

Adapted from The Woks of Life, Egg Drop Soup, Omnivore's Cookbook, Egg Drop Soup, and ChineseFoodWiki, Egg Drop Soup.