Often, soup gets pigeonholed into acting as a side dish or appetizer. Maybe it’s just me, but I think with the right ingredients, soup can be the star of the show! This Hearty Egg Drop Soup is full of great, cheap ingredients and will not be removed from the spotlight! It’s egg based broth easily delights all on its own, but is also great for getting in a savory, healthy, balanced meal.
For me, the story behind this recipe is personal. You wouldn’t know it nowadays, but my hometown of Portland, Oregon, used to have a small and thriving Chinatown. My family didn’t have a lot of money, but like many other families, we came together over food and made it a priority to eat well together. At least a few times a month my parents would take us downtown to get Chinese food, and egg drop soup was one of many delicious menu items we’d try.
Egg drop soup was typically served in a small bowl as an appetizer, and to our family it just wasn’t enough. The delicate texture of the eggs, suspended in cornstarch and chicken broth, was so lovely that I always was left wanting more of it, but the trouble was that it wasn’t filling enough to have as a main meal. My dad and I love going out to try new foods, then see if we can recreate what we’d just experienced. Egg drop soup was definitely on the list for meals to try at home.
A very talented cook, my dad taught me a lot of about cooking. The only trouble is that he doesn’t write recipes for his creations, so the instructions for all the great meals he’s made are stuck in his head and not shared with the world. We’ve made this soup together more times than I can count, and when I moved away to college I called him over and over to confirm the ingredients and instructions so I could make it on my own. When I decided to start writing recipes, I immediately thought of this one. Heart Egg Drop Soup is dear to my heart, and I hope you love it just as much as I do.
What Is Egg Drop Soup?
If you’ve an omnivore and have never tried egg drop soup, you’re missing out. It has Chinese origins, but while doing some research I learned that the eggy base for this soup spread all over the world! In America, the soup is decently thick and viscous, but in China the broth is thinner. In Laos it’s been adapted with red curry and coconut. In Italy, the soup incorporates parmesan cheese. France removed the yolk and makes the soup with garlic and egg whites. There are also variations of egg drop soup in Austria, Poland, Russia, and Greece.
Having never been to any of those places, this recipe is an adaptation of the Americanized version. Egg drop soup, also known as egg flower soup, is made from pouring beaten eggs into boiling thickened chicken broth. The product is a salty, thick broth with wispy slivers of cooked egg. The soups appearance may make you think of the River Styx from Disney’s Hercules (don’t judge me until you’ve Googled it). The norm is to serve this simple soup as a beginning course with chopped scallions or tofu.
Ingredients
Optional Ingredients
. Char siu, or BBQ pork, is a delicious roasted pork that is a great addition to this soup. This grocery item isn’t always easy to find but it is usually there, so keep an eye out. If you do use it, make sure to slice it into little strips for the soup.
. I love adding shrimp to the soup. To add, stir them in after you finish the soup and turn the heat off and wait an extra 5 minutes or until the shrimp is pink. This soup has enough protein and shrimp tends to be pricey, so I usually cut them in half to make a smaller amount go farther.
. Green bell peppers are a personal choice here. They add a little bitterness and some extra fiber to this soup, so if that’s your thing then go for it.
. Cabbage is a great addition . You can chop it into medium sized pieces and they add variety of texture and the soup will be a little more filling. Just make sure not to use red cabbage or the soup will become discolored.
- Chicken broth
- Tofu
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Bok choy
- Peas
- Scallions
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
. If you’re worried about your salt intake, opt for low-sodium chicken broth. Depending on added optional ingredients, this soup can be a bit salty.
. I prefer extra firm tofu for this recipe because it holds up better again the other ingredients in the soup. Silken tofu is fine for a traditional egg drop recipe, but there are a lot of items floating in the broth that could potentially smoosh the tofu.
. If bok choy it’s not available to you try swapping it out for another study leafy green like collard greens or kale.
. Shiitake mushrooms are more expensive than criminis. I find the best deal at Costco, but if you don’t have room in the budget for these just swap out for the less expensive variety.
. Frozen and canned peas will work for this recipe. If you use canned, drain them well. If you use frozen you can put them right into the broth from the freezer, but consider that a tiny bit of water will get into the soup from them thawing in the broth.
How To Make This Soup
This soup may feel intimidating to make, but it’s actually pretty easy. This one-pot-wonder takes less than an hour and although there are a fair amount of ingredients, the steps are straightforward. First, heat the broth and add the mushrooms. I like to slice the mushrooms into thick pieces because I love the texture. Also, I add the shrooms first to make room on my countertop and because they don’t get soggy or overcooked, but you can add all the produce at the same time if you want. Next, cube your tofu. It will be sitting in water when you break the packaging, so pour the water out and lightly squeeze the brick. It doesn’t have to be dry since you’re putting it in soup. Add the tofu and all the rest of your prepped ingredients. Give it a minute or two to cook, then taste it to check the salt levels. Once the soup is boiling, mix together cold water and cornstarch and pour it in. This step may take a while so you can add enough cornstarch to get the right consistency for your taste.
Boil the soup once again and slowly whisk in the beaten eggs. You don’t want to whisk too fast or you won’t get large enough wisps of egg to notice, but don’t stir too slowly or the wisps will be chunks. Turn the heat off as soon as you whisk in the eggs to avoid overcooking them. I like to top this soup with scallions and wonton strips.
Hearty Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
Soup Basics
- 10 cups chicken broth, can sub bullion
- 1 brick firm or extra firm tofu, sliced into cubes
- 8 oz shiitake mushrooms, can sub crimini mushrooms
- 1 bunch bok choy, roughly sliced
- 2 cups green peas
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 2-3 eggs
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Optional Ingredients
- 1 lb BBQ pork, sliced
- 6-10 medium deveined shrimp, cut in halves
- 1/2 bunch kale or collard greens, to sub for bok choy
- 2 green bell peppers, cut into large chunks
- 1-2 cups green cabbage, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup egg whites, added to egg mix for more protein
- Chinese hot mustard
Instructions
- Heat broth in large pot. While the broth heats, wash, slice, and add in the mushrooms.
- Lightly squeeze out the tofu brick with your hands. It’s going in soup so the moisture isn’t that big of a deal. Slice into chunks and add in.
- Add prepped bok choy and peas to soup.
- Before continuing, taste the broth to make sure it’s still salty enough after adding the ingredients.
- Heat soup to boil. In a mug mix cornstarch with a few tablespoons of cold water. When the soup boils, stir in the mixture. If it isn't thick enough, continue to add 1/4 cup cornstarch at a time until it’s how you like it.
- Again, heat soup to boil while lightly beating eggs with a fork. Upon boiling, very slowly stir in the egg so you have good sized egg strips in your soup.
- Turn heat off and throw in half the scallions. Wait a minute or two, then serve. Top bowls with remaining fresh scallions and wonton strips.
Notes
- Cut the shrimp in half to make it go farther in the soup. It isn't the sole protein source, so it would be added for flavor alone.
- When picking your bok choy, look for the bundle that has the most leafy green to it. You can still eat the stalks and should add them to your soup, but the stalks do tend to break down a bit in the soup.
- Don't add too much thickener to your soup. Remember, it will thicken even more as it cools.