Chinese · Lunch or dinner

Egg Drop Soup

Silky ribboned egg, ginger broth, scallion and white pepper.

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Egg Drop Soup, plated, photographed from above.
Prep
5 min
Cook
10 min
Makes
4 servings
Skill
Beginner
Heat
Mild, adjustable
Vegetarian Halal Contains eggs Contains soy
Maui says

The whirlpool is the whole trick. Stir SLOWLY (one direction) and pour the egg in a steady thin stream - that's what gives you those silky ribbons instead of scrambled clumps. If you stop the whirlpool too fast, you'll get egg pancakes.

Ingredients

Everything below makes 4 servings.

  • 6 cupsvegetable stock
  • 1 inchfresh gingerpeeled and smashed
  • 1 tbspsoy sauce
  • 2 tbspcornstarch
  • 3large eggslightly beaten
  • 3scallionsthinly sliced, white and green separated
  • 1 tsptoasted sesame oil
  • ¼ tspground white pepper
  • ½ tspkosher salt

In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.

Nutrition

Per serving, as written.

  • 90calories
  • 5gprotein
  • 6gcarbs
  • 5gfat

Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.

Instructions

Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.

Before you start
  1. Peel and smash a 1-inch piece of ginger.
  2. Thinly slice scallions - keep whites and greens separate.
  3. Lightly beat 3 eggs in a small bowl until just uniform (don't whip).
  4. In another small bowl, whisk cornstarch with 3 tbsp cold water until smooth.
1

Simmer broth

Bring stock and smashed ginger and scallion whites and soy sauce and salt and white pepper to a gentle simmer in the saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 3-4 min to infuse.

4 min · hands on
2

Thicken

Re-whisk the cornstarch slurry (it settles). Stir into the simmering broth and cook 1 min until the soup turns silky and slightly glossy - it should coat the back of a spoon lightly.

1 min · hands on
3

Ribbon the egg

Stir the soup in a slow circle with a spoon to create a gentle whirlpool. While stirring, drizzle the beaten egg in a thin stream - the moving broth will pull it into delicate ribbons. Stop stirring; let the egg set for 10 seconds.

1 min · hands on
4

Finish and serve

Fish out and discard the smashed ginger. Off heat, drizzle in toasted sesame oil. Ladle into bowls and top with scallion greens.

1 min · hands on

Make it yours

Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.

Instead of eggs only Add silken tofu cubes

Cube 4 oz silken tofu, add gently with the egg ribbon. Adds about 2 minutes.

Instead of eggs only Add shredded chicken

Stir in 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken with the cornstarch slurry.

Instead of served as starter or with steamed rice With steamed jasmine rice

Start rice 15 min before soup; soup itself is only 10 min. Adds about 15 minutes.

Instead of served as starter or with steamed rice With scallion pancakes

Crisp frozen scallion pancakes in a dry skillet 2-3 min/side. Adds about 5 minutes.

What keeps

Egg drop soup is fresh-only - the ribboned egg loses its silkiness on day 2 and the broth thickens unpleasantly when reheated. Make the broth ahead (keeps 3 days) and add the egg and cornstarch slurry at serving.

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