This easy Chinese egg drop soup is ready in less than 15 minutes and tastes just like the soup at your favorite Chinese restaurant! It's made with eggs, ginger, green onions, and mushrooms.

Photography Credit: Elise Bauer

This Chinese egg drop soup from my friend and guest contributor Garrett McCord couldn’t be easier! It takes no more than 20 minutes to make start to finish, and is perfect for a quick, healthy meal. ~Elise

In college one of the dishes I relied on was my own version of egg drop soup. It was simple, tasty, comforting and (most importantly) budget friendly.

Video! How to Make Egg Drop Soup

An Inexpensive Crowd Pleaser

As I started to make it more and more I began to notice that friends started to drop by for dinner with increasing frequency.

This was fine as all I had to do was add a bit more chicken stock and soy sauce and toss in another beaten egg. I could feed my guests cheaply and enjoy their company.

Just Like Restaurant Egg Drop Soup!

For years I ate what I thought had been faux egg drop soup cobbled together by a hungry student, however, it was only recently I discovered that my recipe was actually quite accurate.

With the addition of some cornstarch and the use of white pepper, this homemade soup is dead ringer for the soup at your favorite Chinese-American restaurant.

How to Make Egg Drop Soup

As mentioned above, making a quick batch of this soup couldn’t be easier.

First , make a quick slurry of cornstarch and a little stock — this helps dissolve the cornstarch so that it doesn’t clump up when you add it to the soup. Set this aside so that it’s ready when you need it.

, make a quick slurry of cornstarch and a little stock — this helps dissolve the cornstarch so that it doesn’t clump up when you add it to the soup. Set this aside so that it’s ready when you need it. Second, combine the bring the broth to a boil with all the flavoring ingredients: ginger, soy sauce, green onions, white pepper, and mushrooms.

combine the bring the broth to a boil with all the flavoring ingredients: ginger, soy sauce, green onions, white pepper, and mushrooms. Third, whisk that cornstarch slurry into the broth.

whisk that cornstarch slurry into the broth. Last but not least, add the beaten eggs while gently stirring the soup so they fan out in ribbons.

Tips for Making Egg Drop Soup

The cornstarch is key to this endeavor. It not only thickens up the soup just enough to give it body, but it also helps keep the eggs silky and tender. Don’t skip it! (FYI, you can add a little extra cornstarch if you’d like a thicker soup.)

Also important is to stir the pot slowly — not rapidly — as you add the eggs. You want enough movement to make ribbons, but not so much that the egg just dissolve into barely-there wisps.

Eat Right Away!

Egg drop soup is a meal that is best served as soon as it’s ready, so tell your guests to be at the table with spoons in their hands!

This is also not a soup that keeps or reheats very well, so make only what you will eat right away.

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