Egg Drop Soup (蛋花湯)

Ready in 10-15 minutes, this soup is the fastest bowl of comfort you'll ever make.

flodesk gif
Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
15 min
Yields
4 servings

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

Egg Drop Soup (also known as "Egg Flower Soup") was a crowd favorite at my parents' old restaurant.

As kids, my sister and I used to eat this 3 to 4 times a week. It's incredibly easy to make, and healthy too!

Read on to learn how to make this for you and your loved ones.

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Soup Base

  • 3 egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 6 cup water
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 5 tbsp water

Additional Ingredients

  • 2 oz pea (

    frozen or canned is fine

    )
  • 2 oz corn (

    frozen or canned is fine

    )
  • 2 oz carrot
  • 2 stalk green onion (

    optional, for garnish

    )

Flavor

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon
  • white pepper (

    to taste

    )
  • sesame oil (

    to taste

    )

Make it your own

For this recipe, my dad chose to use carrots, corn, and peas, but you can really use anything you'd like for the additional ingredients.

My dad's philosophy on cooking is to get creative and try different things.

Feel free to try this with minced meats, shrimp, other vegetables - I've even seen other chefs use tomato in their soup base.

On Special Flavors

My dad usually has chicken powder on hand in his kitchen. Since some grocery stores don't carry this, I've included a link to purchase the one my dad uses on Amazon.

Sesame oil is another ingredient that's sometimes hard to find in Western grocery stores. Here's our favorite on Amazon!

These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!

First, chop up some green onion (2 stalk) and carrots (2 oz). For the carrots, my dad prefers to chop them into little cubes.

Add water (6 cup) to your pot, and set the stove to high heat to bring the pot to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid.

Now we build the foundation of our Egg Flower Soup.

Crack eggs (3 ) into a bowl, and add a small amount of water (1 tbsp). Then, mix with a fork or chopsticks for about 20 seconds.

Pro-tip:
The water helps the eggs "flower" more easily and beautifully.

Once our pot is boiling, add carrots (2 oz), corn (2 oz), and peas (2 oz). Cover the pot again.

Cornstarch is a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine, used to thicken sauces and soups among many other purposes.

Add cornstarch (3 tbsp) and water (5 tbsp) to a bowl, and mix until there are no clumps left.

Over the course of about 30 seconds, gradually pour the cornstarch slurry into the soup, stirring the soup constantly as we pour.

Similar to the previous step, gradually pour in the eggs into the pot, constantly stirring as you go. Do this for about 20 seconds.

The slower you pour, the more wispy "flowers" you'll get. DO NOT pour the eggs all at once.

(For each recipe and YouTube episode, I film my dad cooking each recipe twice. For the first take, he spent about 20 seconds on this step. For the second take - 18 seconds.)

Almost done! Turn the heat off to preserve the softness of the eggs and avoid overcooking the soup.

Next, add salt (1 tsp) and chicken bouillon (1 tsp), as well as white pepper ( ) and sesame oil ( ) to your liking. Stir the flavors around for a few seconds.

Call your loved ones over - dinner is ready!

Pour the soup into a bowl(s) of your choosing, and garnish with the green onion (2 stalk) we chopped earlier.

FAQ

What's the different between Egg Drop Soup and Egg Flower Soup?

  • They're exactly the same soup! They are two different names for the same dish.
  • The Chinese name is 蛋花湯, which translates to egg flower soup. It refers to the flowery wisps of egg when it's stirred into the broth.
  • The other name, Egg Drop Soup, refers to the technique of slowly pouring, or "dropping", beaten egg into the soup.

What's the best way to thicken soup?

  • We use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup. If you want it even thicker, you can up the amount of slurry. Make sure that you're stirring constantly as you add the cornstarch slurry, because if you just dump it all into the hot soup, you may end up with one big cornstarchy lump!
  • You can also use other starches like tapioca starch, arrowroot starch, or potato starch. We don't typically use flour as a thickener in Chinese soups, sauces, or other dishes, because flour is rather opaque, significantly changing the color of the dishes.
  • If you'd prefer a thinner soup that's more liquidy, feel free to skip the slurry, or use less.
  • Be aware that you'll add the cornstarch slurry to rather hot soup, and when it cools down, it'll thicken up a touch more.

Is egg drop soup healthy?

  • Yes, it is! You can make sure that you make the healthiest version possible by choosing good quality chicken broth and good quality produce. Our recipe already has very little salt and chicken bouillon, and you can always reduce them further or omit them if necessary, though the soup may come out slightly less flavorful.
  • Restaurant or instant versions may not be as healthy when they include additives and preservatives, but because you're making this soup from scratch, you have full control over the ingredients.

Summary

Egg Drop Soup (蛋花湯)
Ready in 10-15 minutes, this soup is the fastest bowl of comfort you'll ever make.
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 15 min
  • Yield: 4 servings

Soup Base

  • 3 egg
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 6 cup water
  • 3 tbsp cornstarch
  • 5 tbsp water

Additional Ingredients

  • 2 oz pea (

    frozen or canned is fine

    )
  • 2 oz corn (

    frozen or canned is fine

    )
  • 2 oz carrot
  • 2 stalk green onion (

    optional, for garnish

    )

Flavor

  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon
  • white pepper (

    to taste

    )
  • sesame oil (

    to taste

    )

Step 1 - Cut green onion, carrots

↑ Jump to details

Cut green onion (2 stalk) and carrots (2 oz) into small pieces. For the carrots, my dad prefers to chop them into little cubes.

Step 2 - Boil water

↑ Jump to details

Add water (6 cup) to your pot, and set the stove to high heat to bring the pot to a boil. Cover the pot with a lid.

Step 3 - Prepare eggs

↑ Jump to details

Crack eggs (3 ) into a bowl, and add a small amount of water (1 tbsp). Then, mix with a fork or chopsticks for about 20 seconds. The water helps the eggs "flower" more easily and beautifully.

Step 4 - Add carrots, corn, peas

↑ Jump to details

Once our pot is boiling, add carrots (2 oz), corn (2 oz), and peas (2 oz). Cover the pot again.

Step 5 - Prepare cornstarch slurry

↑ Jump to details

Add cornstarch (3 tbsp) and water (5 tbsp) to a bowl, and mix until there are no clumps left.

Step 6 - Slowly pour & mix cornstarch

↑ Jump to details

Over the course of about 30 seconds, gradually pour the cornstarch slurry into the soup, stirring the soup constantly as we pour.

Step 7 - Slowly pour & mix eggs

↑ Jump to details

Similar to the previous step, gradually pour in the eggs into the pot, constantly stirring as you go. Do this for about 20 seconds.

The slower you pour, the more wispy "flowers" you'll get. DO NOT pour the eggs all at once.

Step 8 - Add flavors

↑ Jump to details

Turn the heat off to preserve the softness of the eggs and avoid overcooking the soup.

Add salt (1 tsp) and chicken bouillon (1 tsp), as well as white pepper ( ) and sesame oil ( ) to your liking. Stir the flavors around for a few seconds.

Step 9 - Plate the soup

↑ Jump to details

Pour the soup into a bowl(s) of your choosing, and garnish with the green onion (2 stalk) we chopped earlier.

Step 10 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 11 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

My sister and I have many, many happy memories enjoying this dish growing up.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.

Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and my family. (My parents share their experiences about growing up in rural China. Pretty cool!)

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.