Egg Drop Soup {Simple and Satisfying}

I’ve mentioned before how much I adore my hair stylist.  And I think you also know by now that I LOVE to talk about food.  So when I have my time in the salon chair with a captive audience…we talk about food.  I’m so happy that she has become a Lemony Thyme follower.  Through conversation, I’ve always known she was a ‘good eater’ (something my mom labeled you as, IF you were willing to try different cuisines, and of course clean your plate).

Having said that, she’s young and still honing her own cooking skills.  She shared that she loved the egg recipes I had been posting, but no matter how hard she tried she could not poach an egg.  To quote her, “they always end up like egg drop soup.”  And that was the recipe inspiration for this Egg Drop Soup post.

For her, and anyone else who has yet to master the poached egg…stay tuned for a step by step on what works for me.

All the recipes I read for Egg Drop Soup called for three basic ingredients: a nice broth, eggs, and a little corn starch.  Some also suggested added ingredients, like scallions, mushrooms, and tofu.  I chose to adapt this recipe by The Kitchn because I loved the flavor nuances they added.  I chose to infuse my broth with cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorns, and fresh ginger.

First recipe tip, this tea ball was the perfect infuser, although spice bags or cheese cloth would work well too.  Simply simmer the broth for 10 – 15 minutes then remove the spice ball.  Make a corn starch slurry with about ¼ cup of broth and 1 Tbl. of cornstarch.  Whisk it back into the broth and add any additional recipe ingredients like scallions or mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes.

For the egg drop, whisk the eggs with 1 tsp. of corn starch in a small bowl.  Bring the broth to barely a simmer then drizzle the beaten egg into the broth.  The second recipe tip I followed was to pour the egg over the tines of a fork and slowly swirl the broth with a whisk as you add the egg.  By my calculation this requires three hands (or you can balance the fork across the pan).

This recipe is simple to make yet full of flavor.  I actually went home and made this for lunch today.  At first taste the ginger and star anise flavors were most prevalent, but then my tongue detected a hint of cinnamon and the rich chicken broth.  We topped ours with thinly sliced scallions which were a fine addition.  Egg Drop Soup was the perfect lunch soup and would also make a fantastic first course for an Asian themed dinner.  Hmmm….did someone say Asian themed dinner?!

Egg Drop Soup {Simple and Satisfying}

lightly adapted from The Kitchn

Egg Drop Soup was the perfect lunch soup and would also make a fantastic first course for an Asian themed dinner.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbl. + 1 tsp. corn starch
• ½ cinnamon stick optional
• 1 star anise optional
• 10-12 peppercorns optional
• ½ ” sliced ginger optional
• 2-3 scallions thinly sliced, optional

Instructions

 

• Place broth flavor infusers in a tea ball or spice bag and simmer with broth for 10 – 15 minutes then remove the spice ball.
• Make a corn starch slurry with about ¼ cup of broth and 1 Tbl. of cornstarch. Whisk it back into the broth and add any additional recipe ingredients like scallions or mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes.
• For the egg drop, whisk the eggs with 1 tsp. of corn starch in a small bowl.
• Bring the broth to barely a simmer then drizzle the beaten egg into the broth, pouring over the tines of a fork while slowly swirling the broth.
• Serve with a sprinkling of sliced scallion

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