Egg Drop Soup. A simple delicious soup made of a savory broth with beautiful egg ribbons seasoned with sesame oil and green onions. A 10-minute easy soup made with minimal ingredients. This beats Chinese takeout saving you money!
Jump to:
Egg Drop Soup is a hot soup made of chicken broth, eggs, sesame oil, chicken stock powder, salt, white pepper, cornstarch, and green onions. The natural yellow color comes from the egg.
This popular soup is served at many Chinese restaurants and usually served as a starter, side dish, or with a main course. It's so comforting and tasty and the best part is how simple it is to make.
I love making it for my husband, especially if he's under the weather. I've made it countless times for him so much that I have perfected it after much trial and error.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to the below Recipe card for full measurements
- Low-sodium Chicken stock: or substitute with homemade chicken broth or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version.
- Large Egg: for the egg ribbons. If you have eggs with omega 3s, use those as they make the soup more vibrant in color.
- Green onions: separated into scallion whites and scallion greens
- Chicken bouillon powder: This adds more depth to the soup. If you're gluten-free or vegetarian, please omit altogether.
- Salt
- Sesame oil: If allergic, you may omit but it won't be as fragrant.
- White pepper: or black pepper
Cornstarch Slurry
- Cornstarch: Or substitute with potato starch or tapioca starch. This helps to thicken the soup but don't overdo it or it'll be too goopy.
- Cold water
Expert Tips
- Reduce to low-medium heat before pouring cornstarch slurry to prevent clumps and stir simultaneously.
- Allow soup to reach boiling point after adding cornstarch mixture. This ensures your soup thickens as the high heat activates the cornstarch.
- Beat eggs in a measuring cup with a lip to making thin egg ribbons.
- For foolproof egg ribbons, make sure to pour a thin stream of the eggs from a higher distance and stir in a circulation motion while stirring with a large spoon. If you want the long egg strands, pour from a lower distance, let it set for 10 seconds and then stir.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make egg drop soup:
Beat Eggs & Make Cornstarch Slurry
First in a measuring cup with a lip or a small bowl, beat your eggs until smooth. Tip: Using a measuring cup with a lip will make the pouring process easier.
Then in a separate small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until starch has dissolved.
Boil Chicken Stock and Add Slurry
In a medium size pot, add chicken stock and scallion whites only (reserve the green parts as a garnish for later). Cover and bring to boil over medium high heat.
Uncover and lower heat to medium heat. Give the cornstarch slurry another mix and while stirring, pour it into the broth. Do not pour in without stirring or it’ll become clumpy. Let this boil uncovered, over medium heat, for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
Season Stock & Make Egg Ribbons
Season broth with chicken stock powder, sesame oil, salt and white pepper. Mix well.
For a small egg flowers, pour beaten eggs in a thin stream from a higher distance while stirring in a circular motion. For larger egg flowers, pour eggs in a circular motion from a slightly lower distance without stirring and let it set for 10 seconds. Then gently stir. Allow your soup to bubble for 1 minute. Remove off heat.
Garnish
Garnish with scallion greens. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftover soup will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat this soup, simply re-boil over the stove top or microwave with a cover until warm.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing egg drop soup as the freezer makes the eggs taste rubbery.
Pairing Suggestions
Egg drop soup serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, or crab rangoons
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, fried rice, chow mein, or lo mein
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Orange Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!
FAQ
Some great additions to elevate your egg drop soup to the next level include: wonton strips, fresh ginger, corn niblets, cooked chicken, imitation crab meat, peas, diced carrots, or diced tomatoes.
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
This can be due to simply dumping the eggs into the soup without pouring it from a height in a thin stream while stirring.
Other recipes you may like
📖 Recipe
10-min. Easy Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock unsalted (or sub with vegetable or beef broth)
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 green onion finely chopped with scallion whites and greens separated
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (aka chicken stock powder)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (or sub with black pepper)
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch (or sub with potato starch or tapioca starch)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- First in a bowl, beat your eggs until smooth. Tip: beat it in a measuring cup with a lip like the one below. This makes the egg pouring process much easier versus using a small bowl without a lip.
- Then in a separate small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until starch has dissolved. You'll need to re-mix this again before pouring into your soup as the cornstarch tends to clump with time.
- In a medium size pot, add chicken stock and scallion whites only (reserve the green parts as a garnish for later). Cover and bring to boil over medium high heat.
- Uncover and lower heat to medium heat. While stirring, pour in cornstarch water mixture. Do not pour in without stirring or it’ll become clumpy. Let this boil uncovered, over medium heat, for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
- Season stock with chicken stock powder, sesame oil, salt and white pepper. Mix well.
- For a small egg flowers, pour beaten egg in a thin stream while stirring in a circular motion. Tip: To make a thin stream, pour from a higher distance.For larger egg flowers, pour eggs in a circular motion from a slightly lower distance without stirring and let it set for 10 seconds. Then gently stir. Allow your soup to bubble for 1 minute. Remove off heat.Do not simply dump the eggs into your soup without a circular motion or you will have scrambled eggs in your soup.
- Garnish with scallion greens. Enjoy!
Diane
Excellent! Better than most restaurants!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Diane! So happy you found it better than most restaurants 🙂 Have a great day!
Laarni
So easy and always comforting!
christieathome
Thanks so much for sharing your kind review, Laarni! Happy you enjoy it every time 🙂
Mahboo
Me loved this recipe so much. It's my favorite thing to drink on a cold autumn day.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Mahboo! I am so glad it's your favourite thing to drink on a cold day.
Harry
Add corn and crab to make crab and corn soup! Thank you for this recipe.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Harry! Yes, those are great add-ons and glad you enjoyed it!
Carol
My husband and I love Egg Drop Soup! This recipe is the closest I’ve come to restaurant quality! Delicious 😋
christieathome
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this kind review with me, Carol! So happy it's close to restaurant quality 🙂
Pilar Williams
Just curios why add sesame oil?
christieathome
For that nutty flavor!
Mary
This was so comforting and delicious! I appreciated how easy it was as well. The whole family really enjoyed it.
christieathome
Thank you Mary! I'm so glad you and the whole family enjoyed it!