Egg Drop Soup
Learn to make a restaurant-quality egg drop soup that's even faster than takeout!
Cooking Summary
Ingredients: (detailed list)
- Shrimp Marinade: shrimp, white pepper, cornstarch
- Soup Ingredients: carrot, soft tofu, egg, water, chicken broth, salt, white pepper, oil, sugar
- Slurry Ingredients: potato starch, water
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Top 3 Mistakes
- Stirring only at the surface:
Reach the bottom of the pot as you stir in the eggs. Moving only the surface leaves the mixture below undisturbed, instead of distributing the egg throughout the soup as directed.
- Adding thickener too fast:
Add the starch mixture gradually while stirring, checking the texture as it thickens. Pouring it all in at once gives you less control over the final consistency of the sauce.
- Pouring the eggs too fast:
Add the beaten eggs in the slow stream described in the recipe. Dumping them in at once changes how they set, giving you larger clumps instead of the delicate strands you want.
Overview
Egg drop soup was one of the most popular dishes at my parents' old restaurant. Not only did our customers love it, but my sister and I did, too — in fact, we used to sneak bowls of it when our parents weren't looking!
This classic Chinese dish is quite easy to make at home and once you get a hang of the technique, you can use it in some of our other comforting soups, such as seaweed soup and chicken corn soup.
What is egg drop soup?
Egg drop soup gets its English name from the way its made. Beaten eggs are literally dropped into a pot of boiling soup. In Chinese, however, egg drop soup is actually called 蛋花湯, which translates to "egg flower soup," a reference to the way the eggs form beautiful flower-like swirls as they're incorporated.
An expert Chinese chef's tips for making restaurant-quality egg drop soup
Slow and steady is the key to a restaurant-quality egg drop soup that's both delicious and visually appealing! To form a clear, smooth soup, my dad likes to use potato starch as the thickener (more on that below) instead of cornstarch. He adds the potato starch slurry slowly with the heat turned off so it can incorporate thoroughly without getting thick and gloppy.
The same goes for the eggs. He adds a bit of water to the eggs to help make them smoother, then gradually pours the mixture into the soup while stirring all the way down to the bottom of the pot. That's how restaurants get pretty, flower-like swirls in their egg drop soup.
Ingredients
Why this recipe
Most egg drop soup recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 798.6K views, 15.5K likes on YouTube.
On potato starch
Most egg drop soup recipes use cornstarch as a thickener, but my dad prefers potato starch for a few reasons. First, potato starch thickens liquids while keeping it translucent so you get a clearer soup than with grain-based thickeners such as cornstarch. Second, it's more effective! You typically don't need to use as much potato starch. Finally, the soup won't get watery if it needs to sit out for a while.
On chicken broth
Using low-sodium chicken broth will allow for more flexibility when it comes to salting and seasoning. The great thing about making homemade egg drop soup is you get to control the salt levels.
Substitution Tip: If you don't have canned chicken broth, you can also use 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder mixed into 1 cup of water instead.
On shrimp
We use 26/30 shrimp in this recipe, but any size will work since they need to be chopped into smaller pieces.
How to make Egg Drop Soup
Peel the shrimp (5 oz). To easily remove the shell off, first twist off the tail. Then, hook a finger under the remaining shell and pull it straight off. Make sure to remove the legs as well if they don’t come off when you pull the shell off.
Place a shrimp on the cutting board and, holding a sharp knife so the blade is parallel to the board, slice through it sideways. Put the cut shrimp in a bowl of clean, cold water and move them around by hand to wash out the veins.
Once they're clean, drain the shrimp and dry to remove any excess water. Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
Next, marinate the shrimp. Combine the chopped pieces with white pepper (0.25 tsp) and cornstarch and mix thoroughly, then set aside.
Peel the carrot (3 oz) and cut off a 3-inch section. Cut it into thin slices, then rotate the pieces 90 degrees so the shorter end is facing your knife and chop into small pieces.
Remove the tofu (8 oz) from its packaging and drain. Cut the block of tofu in half, setting aside the other piece to use in another dish (like our West Lake Beef Soup!). Flip the tofu to its side and cut the block into quarters. Place the quarters on top of one another, then cut into thin strips. Finally, turn your knife to chop the strips into small cubes.
Crack the eggs (4 large) into a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the chicken broth (1 can) to a large pot and place over high heat. Pour in the hot water (6 cup).
In a small bowl, combine the potato starch (5 tbsp) and water (7 tbsp). Mix thoroughly to combine and set aside.
Add tofu & beat eggs
As the water starts to boil, add the tofu and give the soup a stir.
For a smoother egg mixture, add water (1 tbsp) to the bowl before beating. Using a fork in an upward motion, beat the eggs to combine the yolks and whites until well combined.
Add slurry
When the soup reached boiling, turn off the heat. Give the slurry a quick mix and slowly pour it into the pot as you continuously stir the soup with a ladle. Add a bit at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Turn the heat back to high and bring back to a boil.
Chef's Tip: Don't pour the slurry in all at once or else it'll start to clump up.
Add egg & shrimp
It's time for the eggs! Turn the heat to low and, while stirring the soup continuously with a ladle, start to slowly "drop" in the eggs.
Chef's Tip: Make sure to stir all the way to the bottom so the eggs don't sink.
Decrease the heat even more and add the shrimp to the pot.
Add the salt (0.75 tsp) and white pepper (0.25 tsp). Taste the soup and see if it has enough flavor.
Next, add the oil (0.50 tsp) and sugar (1 tsp). Mix in a bit of the chopped carrots and pour into your large serving bowl. Sprinkle on the rest of the carrots for more color.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is egg drop soup made out of?
Egg drop soup ingredients are pretty straightforward! In addition to eggs, my dad adds shrimp, tofu, and carrots. Canned chicken broth is used to form the soup base and potato starch helps thicken it. It's seasoned with salt, white pepper, and a bit of sugar to harmonize the flavors.
You can easily customize egg drop soup and add or remove ingredients depending on your preferences. For example, if your family has shellfish allergies, you can swap the shrimp for another protein. Add mushrooms or other vegetables, top with scallions... the possibilities are endless!
Why is my egg drop soup clumpy?
If your egg drop soup is coming out clumpy, it means the slurry was added too quickly. According to my dad, it's important to lower or turn off the heat completely and stir in the slurry a bit at a time so it slowly incorporates. This will give you a nice smooth soup!
What can I serve with egg drop soup?
Egg drop soup is a wonderful appetizer or side dish. Since my dad's recipe also has shrimp and tofu, it can be a filling main course, too. Serve alongside other classic entrees like beef and broccoli, noodle dishes such as Cantonese chow mein, or fried rice.
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Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.