Egg Drop Soup
A silky, savoury chicken broth threaded with delicate ribbons of egg — a five-ingredient Chinese soup that comes together in under fifteen minutes.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 4 as a starter
- Level
- Easy
By Maya Chen
Method
- 01
Bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. If using, drop in the smashed ginger to infuse for a few minutes, then remove it.
- 02
Season the stock with the soy sauce, white pepper and a little salt to taste. Add the optional pinch of turmeric for a golden colour.
- 03
Stir the cornstarch slurry again and whisk it into the simmering stock. Let it cook for a minute until the broth thickens very slightly — this is what suspends the egg ribbons rather than letting them sink.
- 04
Reduce the heat so the soup is barely moving. Stir the broth slowly in one direction to create a gentle whirlpool.
- 05
Pour the beaten egg in a thin, steady stream from a height while the broth turns, holding back on stirring so the egg sets into fine ribbons.
- 06
Wait a few seconds for the egg to set, then give one gentle stir to separate the strands.
- 07
Take off the heat and stir through the sesame oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- 08
Ladle into bowls and scatter generously with sliced spring onion. Serve hot.
Egg drop soup is proof that a great dish need not be complicated. A good chicken stock, beaten eggs and a few seasonings turn into a comforting, silky soup in the time it takes to boil the kettle. It is the kind of recipe worth knowing by heart, both as a light starter and as a quick remedy on a cold evening.
The whole character of the soup lives in its texture: a clean, savoury broth carrying delicate ribbons of just-set egg. Achieving those fine threads, rather than a clumpy scramble, is the only real technique to master, and it comes down to controlling the heat and the pour.
The egg-ribbon technique
Keep the broth at the gentlest possible simmer before the egg goes in — a hard boil will tear the egg into rough lumps. Pour the beaten egg slowly in a thin stream from a height while you stir the broth into a lazy whirlpool, then stop stirring and let the egg set for a few seconds. The result is the signature wisps that drift through the bowl.
A little body goes a long way
A small amount of cornstarch slurry, whisked in before the egg, gives the broth just enough body to hold those ribbons in suspension and lends the soup its silkiness. Use it sparingly: the aim is a barely thickened broth, not a sauce. Finish off the heat with a drizzle of sesame oil and a generous scatter of spring onion.
