Egg Drop Soup is a hearty, simple soup that is quick and easy to make. It is budget-friendly, packed with protein, and loaded with flavor. Enjoy your favorite soup in no time by making takeout at home!
I could probably eat soup for every meal of the day, including breakfast - and egg drop soup is one of my favorites. Egg Drop Soup, also known as Egg Flower Soup, is a traditional Chinese soup that is made by drizzling beaten eggs into a hot broth so the thin strands of egg cook into beautiful egg ribbons.
The soup is called “Egg Drop” because of how the soup is made - you drop raw eggs into hot soup - but the name in Chinese is egg flower soup because the eggs create swirls in the broth that look like a flower.
I like to make homemade egg drop soup because I like to add vegetables - and I can add extra eggs to increase the amount of protein. The soup is so delicious. For a more traditional egg drop soup recipe, Woks of Life has a great authentic recipe.
Why Make Egg Drop Soup at Home?
When we order from Chinese restaurants, I always order egg drop soup, but it always makes me feel kind of crummy. I love that egg drop soup is light but also filling, but at a restaurant, it can also be really greasy and loaded with MSG.
I love being able to make it at home to avoid unnecessary additives (and also have the chance to add some vegetables.)
Table of Contents
🥘 Ingredient Notes
- Eggs
- Diced Onion
- Diced Celery
- Chicken Stock or Bone Broth
- Fresh Ginger
- Green Onions
- Sesame Oil
- White Pepper
- Black Pepper
- Umami Powder - I buy my Umami Powder from Trader Joe's, but you can also make your own.
- Optional: Add cooked rice, cooked wontons, tofu, or a drizzle of soy sauce.
🥣 How to Make It
Egg drop soup is one of the easiest soup recipes to make, and it is really easy to customize.
To make the soup, begin by dicing up the onions and celery. (Pictures 1 - 2)
Next, saute the vegetables in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil over medium heat. (Pictures 3 - 4)
Once the onions are translucent, add the broth.
Bring this to a boil, then add most of the scallions and the big chunks of ginger. (Reserve some of the scallions to garnish the soup when serving.) Reduce the heat and let the broth simmer for 10 - 15 minutes so the ginger & scallions can infuse the broth.
The longer the broth simmers, the stronger the ginger flavor will be. (Picture 5)
While the broth simmers, whisk the eggs in a small bowl and prepare the cornstarch slurry (or arrowroot slurry.)
Mix together one tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot powder and one tablespoon of cold water. (Picture 6) I absolutely recommend doing it this way - if you just dump the dry powder into your soup, you will end up with some gross, slimy chunks. (For a thicker soup, use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and two tablespoons of water.)
Next, remove the ginger chunks by running a slotted spoon around the pot - you should be able to fish them out. Drizzle in the slurry, then slowly stir the soup.
Next, add the white pepper, Umami powder (not necessary, but adds a yummy flavor), salt, and black pepper. (Picture 7)
Cook this for about 5 more minutes, then adjust the heat until your soup is at a low, rolling boil.
Finally, pour the whisked egg into the boiling broth in a thin stream while stirring the broth in circles. Use chopsticks or a fork to continually stir the broth to create perfectly wispy eggs. The tines of a fork will help tear through the egg as it cooks, and stirring in circles will create the egg flowers.
Give the soup one more good stir and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes, just to be sure the eggs are cooked through. (Picture 8)
Remove from heat and spoon into bowls. (Picture 9)
🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
To serve, spoon your delicious soup into a bowl, then top with a little sesame oil and a few drops of soy sauce or coconut aminos.
Garnish it with the freshly sliced scallions that you saved. You can also add some diced or shredded chicken, homemade wontons, fried wonton strips, or cooked sliced pork.
Variations/Substitutions
- Add corn to the soup - add ½ cup of whole kernel corn to the soup right before removing it from the heat.
- Use powdered ginger instead of fresh ginger. This gives the broth a little bit of a bite.
- Add cooked white rice, chicken, pork, or cooked wontons to the soup.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Constantly stir the eggs and broth in a circular motion with chopsticks or a fork to create perfect strands of egg. If you don't keep the hot soup moving, the eggs can end up scrambled.
- Try to make only as much as you will eat - egg drop soup can be reheated, but it doesn't reheat that well.
How to Store Egg Drop Soup
Once cooled, leftover soup can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will last for 3 - 5 days. Reheat over low heat on the stove or in the microwave to avoid overcooking the eggs.
The soup won't be as good as the first day you served it, but it is still a good bowl of soup.
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Egg drop soup in a restaurant is SO yellow! Homemade egg drop soup can be made more of that bright yellow color that you would see in a restaurant by adding turmeric to the broth. You don't need a lot - just a pinch will do - otherwise, it will start to change the flavor of the soup.
Egg drop soup is best eaten right away as the texture of leftover eggs can get a little weird. You definitely can still reheat the soup, it just won't be as good as the first day you serve it, and it certainly won't get better over time.
Egg drop soup is thickened with a cornstarch mixture - cornstarch and cold water combined to make a slurry. To make this recipe Paleo & Whole30 Compatible, you can thicken it with arrowroot powder instead!
To make a thicker soup, simply increase the amount of cornstarch slurry that you add to the soup. It is a 1:1 ratio of cornstarch to water, so increase both evenly and continue adding it to the hot soup until the broth is as thick as you desire.
What to Serve with Egg Drop Soup
Egg drop soup is a great first course for a meal, and it also makes a great side dish. Serve it as a main course with other small plates, or complete your Chinese take-out meal at home.
- Cooked Wontons - You can buy frozen wontons to heat and serve with (or in!) your soup.
- Egg Rolls - You can buy frozen egg rolls to serve with your soup.
- Fried Rice
- Roasted Broccoli or a Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry
- General Tso's Chicken
- Mongolian Beef
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
📝 Recipe
Paleo Egg Drop Soup
Equipment
- a medium pot
Ingredients
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 6 cups chicken stock, bone broth, or vegetable broth
- 2 chunks fresh ginger ½ - 1 inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 - 3 green onions, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Umami powder optional, but delicious
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 5 eggs whisked together
Thickening Slurry
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch use arrowroot powder for Paleo
Garnish
- 1 green onion, chopped thinly
- kosher salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil in a small or medium-sized pot.1 tablespoon sesame oil
- While the oil is heating, dice the celery and onions.2 stalks celery, diced, 1 small onion, diced
- Once the oil is hot, add the celery and onions to the pot. Cook until onions are translucent, stirring as needed.
- Once the onions are cooked, add the stock, ginger chunks, and most of your green onions, saving some for garnish.6 cups chicken stock, bone broth, or vegetable broth, 2 chunks fresh ginger, 2 - 3 green onions, chopped
- Simmer this for about 15 minutes. The longer you simmer it for, the stronger the ginger flavor will be.
- While your broth is simmering, create the cornstarch or arrowroot slurry by mixing cornstarch and water in a small bowl.1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon water
- While your broth is simmering, also whisk together 5 - 6 large eggs, using 6 if the eggs are on the smaller side.5 eggs
- Next, fish out the ginger chunks with a slotted spoon.
- Mix in the cornstarch slurry and bring the broth back to a rolling boil.
- Add your black pepper, white pepper, Umami powder, and salt.1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon Umami powder
- Cook for about 5 more minutes and then give the pot a stir so that the broth is spinning and slowly pour in the eggs. Continue stirring as you pour in the eggs to prevent big egg chunks from forming. (Using a fork or chopsticks is helpful to break the eggs up into ribbons.)
- Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes to fully cook the egg and then spoon into bowls.
- Garnish with thinly sliced green onions and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste. I beg of you, LET THE SOUP COOL BEFORE EATING. Seriously. It looks and smells amazing, but it will be SO HOT.1 green onion, chopped thinly, kosher salt, pepper
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
Ben Myhre
We made this last night and it was dang good. Tasted much like I would get at a Chinese restaurant. As we have a vegetarian in the family, I did use veggie broth instead of chicken or bone.
We also added in some homemade vegan wontons to the mix.
Debbie
We are trying to eat clean at our house and this soup sounds so good. I love all of your step by step photos..we will be trying this soon..I think I have everything on hand except Umami powder.
Kari
The Umami adds a little something extra, but it is really good without it as well! I hope you enjoy it!