Egg Drop Soup

Magda Born

Egg drop soup is a staple menu item in any Chinese restaurant. I finally tweaked the recipe enough that it tastes just like the restaurant version (without all of the salt, soy sauce, MSG, and other additives). This soup is ready in minutes and my husband and I love to make it as a fast and satisfying dinner. Egg drop soup is simple, tasty, comforting, and budget-friendly. To make it more interesting, you can add a can of sweetcorn or enoki mushrooms, or sliced shiitake mushrooms.

I always keep frozen homemade broth on hand to make this soup (remember to take it out of the freezer and place it in the fridge). For a simple broth recipe, look here.

“Dropping the egg” is a unique technique that only works properly when soup has the right viscosity. This is achieved by adding corn starch. Swirling the soup at just the right moment – not too early and not too late – creates the perfect egg clouds

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Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients

4 c Chicken stock
2 Eggs (very lightly whisked)
4 Scallions (chopped)
1/2 Tbsp Sugar (if using)
1 inch Piece of ginger (finely grated)
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
5 Peppercorns
Soy sauce (or substitution)
1/4 Tbsp Rice vinegar (or any vinegar)
1/4 tsp Ground turmeric
1 Tbsp Roasted sesame oil
1/3 c Cold water

Instructions

Combine the chicken stock, scallions, ginger, sesame oil, and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer over low heat to infuse the broth with aromatics, about 10-20 minutes.
Make a slurry by whisking the cornstarch, turmeric, and sugar (if using) in cold water until smooth and without clumps.
Stir the cornstarch slurry into the broth and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let thicken until the soup reaches the desired thickness.
Gently and slowly, drop the eggs into the simmering liquid and COUNT TO FIVE. Then stir the eggs gently back and forth with a fork about 3 times, fanning them out into silky ribbons, but not so much that they dissolve. Remove pot fromheat.
Fine-tune by adding more soy sauce (or soy sauce substitute), a few drops of vinegar of any kind, more fresh scallions, and sesame oil to adjust the taste to your liking.
Enjoy and share food with friends!