Egg Drop Soup (One Pot)
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The best quick and easy egg drop soup recipe, homemade with simple ingredients in one pot over stovetop in 20 minutes. A comforting soup better than Chinese restaurants! Packed with broth, eggs, soy sauce, basic spices and green onions.
Wonton soup, hot and sour soup, chicken noodle soup (such as this Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup or this Easy One Pot Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup) are probably the most classic Chinese soups out there. No wonder they are on pretty much all Asian restaurant menus.
These soups are inexpensive and budget-friendly and packed with lots of flavor. They are great for warming up during Winter time and perfect for times that you are feeling sick and have a cold.
What is egg drop soup?
It’s a popular Asian soup that’s literally made by dropping raw eggs in hot broth. Its also known as “egg flower soup” because the eggs make beautiful swirls and ribbons when they are added to the broth in a “flower-like” pattern.
The following are typically egg drop soup ingredients: broth, soy sauce, basic spices like salt, pepper, ginger garlic and some cornstarch and green onions.
How to make egg drop soup?
- Mix together broth, soy sauce, ginger, garlic salt, pepper.
- Bring to boil.
- Mix in cornstarch slurry.
- Add beaten eggs.
- Add green onions.
- Serve immediately!
What sides to serve with Chinese egg drop soup recipe?
Typically, it’s served as a meal on its own or it’s served in a small bowl as an appetizer.
These are some popular Chinese main dishes you can serve:
- Crockpot Sesame Chicken
- Crockpot Orange Chicken
- Vegetable Fried Rice (One Pot)
- Bacon Fried Rice (One Pot)
- Cauliflower Fried Rice (One Pot)
- Crockpot Pineapple Chicken
- Sweet and Spicy Chicken (One Pot)
- Honey Sesame Chicken (One Pot)
- Black Pepper Chicken (One Pot)
- Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
- Chicken and Broccoli (One Pot)
- Cashew Chicken (One Pot)
You can serve a simple green salad or this Asian Cucumber Salad (One Bowl) on the side too.
You can also serve a platter of other popular Chinese appetizers such as spring rolls, egg rolls, dumplings, potstickers, steamed buns.
Why is my soup so thin? Why is my soup so thick?
Cornstarch is a key ingredient that affects the consistency of this soup. It thickens it up and also keeps the eggs silky smooth.
If soup is too thin, you didn’t add enough cornstarch. Add more until it’s thickened to your desired consistency.
If it’s too thick, you added too much cornstarch. Thin it out by adding more broth and adjusting your spices again.
Please note that in Chinese cuisine, this soup has a much thinner consistency than compared to the American-Chinese version.
Variations
There are many variations of this recipe but my version below is the classic restaurant-style soup that you can now make at home too.
Make it vegetarian– By using vegetable broth.
Add corn and shredded chicken– Add 1/3 cup frozen corn and 1/2 cup cooked shredded chicken and that would transform this into a chicken corn soup.
Add mushrooms– This gives it more flavor and adds more nutrients. Add about a 1/2 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms.
Wonton egg drop soup– Serve this soup with a topping of fried wonton noodles. It’s so good and adds a little crunch!
Add ramen noodles– To make this a more filling meal.
Tips and Techniques
Adjust amount of spices– Only a handful of spices are used: salt, pepper, ginger, garlic. Add more or less of whatever you like or dislike.
Black pepper vs. White pepper– They have a very similar flavor and are used as a seasoning. Black pepper has a sharper flavor and white pepper is milder. Traditionally, white pepper is used but black pepper works just as well.
Add dissolved cornstarch– You cannot just sprinkle the cornstarch powder in soups because that will create lumps and ruin the smooth and silky nature of this soup. You must dissolve it in some water first!
Adjust quantity of cornstarch– For a thicker soup, add more. For a thinner consistency, add less. Some people even omit it altogether.
Serve immediately– This soup tastes the best when served warm immediately. Unfortunately, leftovers don’t keep well nor do they taste that great, when reheated.
Double or halve the recipe– Double all the ingredients if you are serving a crowd. Since this soup doesn’t keep well for too long, halve the recipe and you can finish it one sitting.
Stir in eggs slowly– This is very important. The slow movement creates perfect little ribbons. If you mix too aggressively, the eggs will just dissolve in the broth with little wisps instead of ribbons.
Use nonstick pot– Because it prevents sticking and burning.
Use beaten eggs– You have to whisk them first and then pour it in the broth. If you don’t do this, you will end up with big chunky egg ribbons.
Sesame oil is optional- Even though it’s a small amount, it adds a lot of flavor and I highly recommend it.
More Soup Recipes
One Pot Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups Chicken broth, Low sodium
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1/2-1 tsp Ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- Salt, To taste
- Pepper, To taste
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch, Dissolved in 2 tbsp water
- 2 Eggs, Large, Beaten
- 4-5 tbsp Green onions, Roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp Sesame oil, Optional
Instructions
- In a large nonstick pot, add broth, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add dissolved cornstarch slurry and mix.
- Lower the heat to medium.
- Add the beaten eggs slowly and gently stir to make ribbons of cooked egg.
- Add green onions, sesame oil (optional) and mix.
- Turn off heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Tastes best when served immediately and I don’t recommend reheating leftovers. If you really must, you can store leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge for 1 day and heat in the microwave but the texture will not be the same and silky smooth.Â
Nutrition
Happy cooking everyone!
