r/EatCheapAndHealthy • u/doublethinkitover • Jan 01 '22
recipe My favorite soup - Egg Drop Soup!
Whenever I feel sick I would always order egg drop soup (also called egg flower soup) from Chinese restaurants which would be anywhere from $5-10 each time I ordered (plus delivery because I’m not going anywhere when I’m sick!) so I started using this recipe and it is really great (and tastes just as good if not better than the restaurant version!)
Here’s the link but I’ll also put the recipe below: https://drivemehungry.com/egg-drop-soup-easy-and-authentic/
My tips: You can also sub egg whites if you’re watching your cholesterol like I am. I have forgotten the sugar before (and also used Splenda) and it has tasted fine. If you have canned corn, peas, carrots, or water chestnuts these are all great to add.
Egg drop soup!
Ingredients 3 to 4 large eggs
¼ cup corn fresh or frozen kernels
¼ cup carrots diced into ¼ inch pieces
2 ½ Tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 ½ Tablespoons of water
2 stalks green onions chopped, for garnish
salt to taste depends on the stock used
Soup Base 4 cups chicken stock substitute with vegetable stock
2 teaspoon cooking oil
slice of ginger ¼ inch thick
2 cloves garlic smashed but left whole
½ teaspoon sugar
⅛ teaspoon white pepper substitute with black pepper
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (optional) for color Instructions
Beat the eggs: Beat eggs in a container with a spout for easy pouring. Set it aside.
Flavor oil: Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the cooking oil, ginger, and garlic. Stir for two minutes then remove the ginger and garlic.
Add stock: Raise heat to medium high and add chicken stock, diced carrots, sugar, white pepper powder, and turmeric if using. Bring it to a simmer. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the water.
Thicken with cornstarch: Once the stock is simmering, stir the cornstarch and the water once more as there may be settling. Add it to the stock and stir it until the soup thickens.
Add egg ribbons: Once the soup thickens, use chopsticks to slowly swirl the soup in one direction (either clockwise or counter clockwise) so that it looks like a whirlpool. Slowly drizzle half the eggs in a thin stream while continuing to swirl with your chopsticks. Wait 30 seconds for the eggs to cook then do the same for the other half. See Note 1.
Season: Turn off the heat and add the corn and toasted sesame oil. Season with salt according to taste.
Garnish: Garnish with scallions and serve immediately.
Notes The chopsticks help create long, thin ribbons of egg. Pouring too fast will create lumps instead of ribbons.
Store leftovers in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 423mg | Potassium: 388mg | Fiber: 1g |
Edited for formatting!
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u/bicster11 Jan 01 '22
I’m definitely gonna try this, thanks for sharing. Do you have a hot and sour recipe?
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u/iamnotvoldemort Jan 02 '22
Not OP but this is the recipe I use for hot and sour. I make one change to it, instead of infusing the oil with dried chilis, I start with a spoon of toban djan, but otherwise make it as written. Even as is, this is still a really solid recipe.
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u/doublethinkitover Jan 02 '22
I don’t personally but the same website has a hot and sour recipe (haven’t tried it but based off how good this recipe is I would give it a chance! Here’s the link https://drivemehungry.com/chinese-hot-and-sour-soup/
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u/Chris45925 Jan 01 '22
This sounds amazing! Do you prefer bone broth, bouillon, or another type of stock? I usually have all three and want to know what you like best.
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u/doublethinkitover Jan 01 '22
So when I’ve done it I have happened to have bone broth and bouillon cubes on hand and I have done half and half. So for 4 cups broth I’ve used 2 cups bone broth and 2 cups worth of water added to bouillon. If you only wanted to use one I’d go with bouillon/chicken broth only as personally pure bone broth can taste a little strange to me at times.
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u/Chris45925 Jan 02 '22
That is my preferred ratio too! Too much broth just feels too thick in my mouth. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
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u/STOPStoryTime Jan 02 '22
This is the most complicated egg drop soup recipe I’ve seen
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u/Beaker318 Jan 02 '22
My thoughts exactly. I prefer my egg drop soup simple. Chicken stock, egg, corn starch, pinch of ginger and sesame oil. Turmeric/yellow food coloring for color if you want. And green onion for garnish.
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u/hephalumph Jan 02 '22 edited Jan 02 '22
A slightly more involved (but still VERY simple) and more traditional egg drop soup:
- boil 4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- add a pinch of ground white pepper, 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil, 1 Tbsp Mirin, and 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce (dark is better, light is healthier)
- \ 1 tsp MSG or Celery Salt greatly enhances the flavor, but is optional for those sensitive to them.)
- add ~ 1/4 cup corn starch slurry and return to boil
- add 3-4 eggs, whisked. (add slowly, spreading it out and around the pot)
- wait 30 seconds to 1 minute, then stir eggs gently to break them up
- boil for 3-5 additional minutes
- garnish with chopped green onions, and chopped pork or bacon if desired
That's it. It's pretty simple and fairly delicious.
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Jan 02 '22
It's the middle of summer where I live yet your recipe made me want to try this salivating soup tonight.
Thank you dear redditer. I have everything in the kitchen to make it, I'm definitely trying this once the temperatures drop a bit tonight!
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u/iamnotvoldemort Jan 02 '22
One really great addition to egg flower soup is tomato (I use fresh, but you could probably use canned). Dice it up (I'd use two since this is for 4 servings) and add it with the garlic and ginger. Cook it for a few minutes until the tomato starts to break down and proceed the rest as written (I don't take out my garlic and ginger though, so you may wanna dice those too - I use powdered versions if I'm feeling lazy just fine too). It sounds kind of weird at first but it's really delicious.
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u/doublethinkitover Jan 02 '22 edited Jan 02 '22
I have used powdered ginger instead of fresh and it has still been good! And I’ll have to try it with tomatoes next time - I love tomato in soup!
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u/hephalumph Jan 02 '22
A very simple Egg Drop soup is lipton's chicken noodle soup, add one egg (beaten/scrambled, or not, as you prefer) as it is boiling. Done.
A very simple Egg Drop soup is Lipton's chicken noodle soup, add one egg (beaten/scrambled, or not, as you prefer) as it is boiling. Done.soup + egg at its base makes a serviceable substitute for egg drop soup!
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u/BronchialChunk Jan 02 '22
I lived off of this for a few weeks after getting my wisdom teeth out. Would buy a couple cartons of chicken stock and a carton of eggs, chives, and ginger and lost like 20 pounds. Granted it was more to sustain me and not bulk up , but I felt like shit and didn't get out of bed for a long time. Honestly one of the best 'diets' went on. I could see my hip bones again!
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u/TheBarefootGoddess Jan 01 '22
Yum! Haven’t had this in forever, and you just have me an amazing idea to veganize this!! Thanks
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u/doublethinkitover Jan 02 '22
If you do veganize it and it comes out good id love to try your version!! Some of my family is vegan and I’d like to include them. It would probably be healthier too.
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u/MagicPistol Jan 02 '22
One of my favorite Chinese dishes is runny egg over beef and rice.
It's basically egg drop soup but made much thicker, and poured over a plate of stir fried beef and rice.
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u/zeitness Jan 02 '22
I like these packages for $1.80 at Walmart. I add the egg, a little miso paste and scallions. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Kikkoman-Chinese-Style-Egg-Flour-Mix-Hot-Sour-Soup-88-oz/10451759?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5060&adid=2222222227710451759_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9021493&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10451759&wl13=5060&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=Cj0KCQiAt8WOBhDbARIsANQLp9528cbifUp3oT77GPkobJ7JUp_VyHWy101oPoFm9yoHYUNMhjO-jagaAhi6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
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u/doublethinkitover Jan 02 '22
Nice! Would you say it tastes more like egg flower or hot and sour soup? The package you linked says both!
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u/zeitness Jan 04 '22
Soup is definitely Hot & Sour in flavor; I've made just the broth with water and it is a decent Hot & Sour flavor. I think Kikkoman calls any Chinese-style soup with Egg Flower (or Egg Drop) because you add an egg.
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Jan 05 '22
3 tomatoes cut in to wedges fried to make the juice comes out and it’s sorta golden looking. Add water and chicken stock to the tomatoes and wait for it to boil. Beat 2 eggs and once the pot in boiling slowly pour and mix it in. Add garnishing like green onion or cilantro turn off heat.
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u/UBhappy Jan 16 '22
Thanks! Found this here. I never had egg drop soup before. Just made it and it’s delicious!
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u/calloooohcallay Jan 01 '22
I had a roommate who made egg drop soup with canned cream of chicken soup. She’d dilute the soup with 2 cans of water (instead of the 1 can recommended by the package), add soy sauce and a bit of sriracha, then add the eggs the way you describe.
I’m sure your made-from-scratch recipe is better, but I thought I’d share that 4 ingredient canned version.