15-Minute Homemade Egg Drop Soup Recipe

Assuming you are a fan of Chinese food in general, then egg drop soup is like one of those dishes that you take for granted. Why, of course you want a serving of egg drop soup along with your pork fried rice, your chow mein, and your gong bao ji ding (aka kung pao chicken). Frankly, not getting this favorite soup along with your favorite sides and entrees would be like an Italian dinner without the garlic bread or a burger without the fries. But making this oft taken-for-granted soup yourself? Now that's probably something you hadn't thought about. Once you realize you can make a batch in about as long as it takes you to find the menu for your favorite takeout spot, however, you'll find homemade egg drop soup on the proverbial menu a lot more often, and no need to wait for delivery or to head out the door yourself.

"It's very simple and so delicious," says chef, recipe developer, and registered dietician Kristen Carli, adding: "I love this super savory dish ... served as a first course before a stir-fry dish." And in more good news, assuming you have some green onions on hand, you almost surely have all other ingredients needed for this classic soup in your kitchen already.

Soups don't get much simpler than this one in terms of ingredients, and that's a put-up, not a put-down: why gild the lily when beauty has already been achieved? To make your own egg drop soup, all you need is chicken broth, soy sauce or tamari (and by the way, tamari is simply a Japanese version of traditionally Chinese soy sauce, in case you wondered — it's a bit thicker and bolder in flavor), some crushed ginger, eggs, and sliced green onions.

And okay, maybe one more thing to consider: spice. "You can easily increase the spice by adding sriracha or red chili flakes," Carli says.

Remember how we just said that soups don't get much simpler than this one in terms of ingredients? Yeah, well the same goes for making it, also. All you need to do is chop, drop, and stir!

To prep the soup, put a large pot on the stove at medium heat and pour in the chicken broth and soy sauce (or tamari sauce), and scoop in the minced ginger and let them heat. Meanwhile, place 4 eggs in a bowl and whisk them together well. Then chop the green onions, then set them aside to use soon. And there, your prep is done!

With the egg whisked, the green onions chopped, and the broth at a lively simmer, you are now two simple steps from being done. The first step is to cut the heat under the pot and begin stirring the broth, adding the egg as you do so. "When you are adding the eggs, be sure to make a whirlpool in the soup," says Carli, adding, "It's best to stir in one direction."

Keep stirring in a circle until all of the egg looks to have set, then pour in the sliced green onions and ... you're done. You just made egg drop soup.

So as it turns out, egg drop soup is quite accurately named, no? The name refers to the primary action you take in making the stuff. Now that said (delicious) stuff is made, it's time to enjoy it. Handfuls of crispy, crunchy wontons taste great in egg drop soup of course, and as noted, it's a great starter for stir-fry dishes. It also pairs well with fried rice or steamed rice, and hey, go ahead and scoop some rice right into the soup for added texture. 

And if you happened to make extra, Carli says: "It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days [and] reheats well on the stovetop."