Classic and comforting egg drop soup made in 3 delicious ways. Choose from tomato and tofu, mushroom and spinach, and crab and corn. Light, filling, and only takes about 15 minutes to make. Perfect on its own or as a side dish for your favorite main dishes.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need to make the classic egg drop soup recipe:
- Chicken Stock or Broth – use good quality stock. If using bouillon cubes, bring water to boil and dissolve thoroughly before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Eggs – use a minimum of two eggs. You can add up to 2 more to make the soup extra hearty. Left-over egg whites perfectly work too!
- Fresh Garlic – use freshly chopped garlic for the best flavor. Garlic powder can also be used as a substitute.
- Sesame oil – just a hint.
- Green onions/scallions – for garnish and color.
- Low sodium soy sauce or fish sauce – to give the soup a deeper flavor. You can also use salt if preferred.
- Cornstarch mixture (not in picture)– to thicken the soup. You can omit this if preferred.
Side note: While some prefer ground ginger to spice up the soup, I personally love using fresh garlic. It kind of gives the soup that aroma that I love from steamboats.
Choose your Egg Drop Soup
Here’s what you need for the 3 egg drop soup options I’m sharing today.
Option 1: Tomato and Tofu
What I love about this variation is that it’s protein-packed. I only use one block of tofu but you can definitely add more if you like. Firm, soft or silken can be used interchangeably.
Cooking Tip: Stir-fry the tomatoes with the soy sauce and cook until softened. The salt will help quickly render the juices and give the soup a nice flavor.
Option 2: Mushroom and Spinach
This is a light, healthy, and high-in-fiber egg drop soup.
Types of mushrooms I recommend are shimeji mushrooms (also known as beech mushrooms), shitake, enoki, and oyster mushrooms. Button mushrooms can also be used.
For the spinach, you can use whatever is locally available. You can even use other lightly flavored green vegetables like nai bai and bok choi. You just need to cook the stems a little bit longer.
Cooking Tip: add the leaves towards the end of the cooking and simmer for a few seconds only to retain its nice crisp green color.
Option 3: Crab and Corn
This soup is reminiscent of my childhood. Although, what I used to have was made out of packets (instant soup) but I remember really loving the flavor.
Use packed fresh crab meat or imitation crab sticks which are more easily accessible. You can slice or shred to pieces.
For the corn, you can use frozen or canned. Fresh can also be used but it will need a longer cooking time.
Classic Egg Drop Soup (Egg Flower Soup)
And if you feel like going for the Chinese restaurant-style soup, you can easily make it without any of the add-ins. Add up to 2 more eggs to make the soup extra rich and hearty.
Thin eggs or Chunky Eggs
How do you like your egg drop soup–with thin strands or chunky ribbons? I prefer the latter, like flowers which give the soup a nice texture.
Here are some tips on how to make it:
- To make thinner strands of eggs, swirl the soup in a quick circular motion while slowly pouring the beaten eggs into the broth. Use a chopstick or whisk if you have one.
- For chunky flower-like eggs, slowly add the eggs into the broth. Do not stir and let it simmer for a few seconds until it sets.
Easy!
What to Serve with Egg Drop Soup
These egg drop soups are good on their own as a light meal, serve with toast or bread.
Personally, I love serving this soup with fried fish, barbecued meats, roasted chicken, or pork, and these dishes:
- Salmon with Gochujang
- Pork Fried Rice
- Lechon Manok
- Chicken Inasal
- Oven Fried Lechon Kawali
- Pork and Shrimp Shumai (Siomai)
Watch how to Make Egg Drop Soup
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Egg Drop Soup – 3 Ways
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth/stock (see note 1)
- ½ teaspoon light soy sauce (or fish sauce)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 large eggs (beaten, see note 2)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 stalks green onion (chopped)
- black or white pepper (to taste)
- salt (optional)
Method 1 – Tomatoes and Tofu
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 big tomatoes (sliced)
- 1 block tofu (cut into small cubes, see note 3)
Method 2 – Spinach and Mushroom
- 1 bunch spinach (washed, stems removed)
- 3.5 oz shimeji mushroom (see note 4)
Method 3 – Crab and Corn
- 8 pcs imitation crab sticks (or crab meat, slice or shredded)
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels (canned or frozen)
Instructions
- Dissolve cornstarch in 1 tablespoon water in a small bow. Set aside.
Method 1 – Tomatoes and Tofu
- Heat oil in a pot. Add tomatoes and soy sauce. Cook until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Pour chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add tofu, sesame oil, and cornstarch slurry (give it a quick stir). Simmer until the soup slightly thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- To add the eggs, hold the fork across the top of the small bowl. Drizzle the eggs slowly around the pot. Stir quickly to break up the eggs into finer pieces or let it set for a few seconds before stirring to get chunky pieces. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!
Method 2 – Spinach and Mushroom
- Pour chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and mushrooms. Simmer for 1 minute. Stir cornstarch slurry then add to the pot. Simmer until the soup slightly thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- To add the eggs, hold the fork across the top of the small bowl. Drizzle the eggs slowly around the pot. Stir quickly in a circular motion to break up the eggs into finer pieces or let it set for a few seconds before stirring to get chunky pieces.
- Add the spinach leaves. Cook for another minute then quickly remove from heat. Serve and enjoy!
Method 3 – Crab and Corn
- Pour chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, corn, crab sticks, and garlic. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir cornstarch slurry then add to the pot. Simmer until the soup slightly thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- To add the eggs, hold the fork across the top of the small bowl. Drizzle the eggs slowly around the pot. Stir quickly in a circular motion to break up the eggs into finer pieces or let it set for a few seconds before stirring to get chunky pieces. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes & Tips:
- Chicken stock/broth – chicken bouillon can be used as a substitute. Use 2 pieces or 2 teaspoons of chicken powder. Bring water to a boil and dissolve the cubes before adding the other ingredients.
- Eggs – add up to 2 more if serving without any of the add-ins.
- Tofu – use firm, soft or silken tofu.
- Mushrooms – shitake, enoki, and oyster mushrooms can also be used.
- Nutrition: calculation only includes the basic egg drop soup ingredients. Add-ins are not included.
Made the crab and corn and it was so good! Perfect for the cold weather. I’ll try the tomato version next week!
Thanks for the recipe.