Ivy's Egg Drop Soup

A centuries old soup that's perfect for beating that winter chill!

Winter has officially hit the Mid-Atlantic, and last weekend I decided we were in need of some soup. Not just any soup: egg drop soup. 

This light but filling dish has been on my to do list for a super long time, and now I wish I'd tackled it sooner. It's extremely easy to make, with only a few ingredients and is ready to eat in about fifteen minutes max at the absolute most. Read on to find out how you can give this a shot yourself!

No one knows for sure when egg drop soup was created, although some people wager it goes back as far as the domestication of chickens in China. There are variations of this dish all over the world, but the Chinese version is definitely the one that's most familiar to American audiences. It's been a staple of Chinese restaurant menus for decades, and Ivy's grandparents almost definitely serve it in their restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. 

Not all egg drop soups are created equal. A bad version can be bland and gummy, but one that's well prepared is a delightfully hearty but filling soup, or a fun appetizer to a bigger meal. The recipe I used comes from the Omnivore's Cookbook, a blog where the author takes the dishes she grew up eating and watching her mother prepare and tweaks them for any modern cook to try out themselves. Her recipe for Egg Drop Soup is a version of the dish her mother makes, and at its heart is a very simple version of the dish to make it easy to throw together. She also includes suggestions of how to tweak it to your liking with extra ingredients like tomatoes or soaked dried shrimp. 

I decided to make the basic version. To start, boil four cups of chicken stock with a large slice of ginger and the chopped white part of three green onions. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it sit for a bit. These should cook together for at least ten minutes to make sure the stock absorbs the flavor of the ginger and onions. 

Meanwhile, mix together four teaspoons of cornstarch, 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 of a teaspoon of white pepper powder, 1/8 of a teaspoon of turmeric (this is mostly for color, don't add too much!), and two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. This needs to get whisked together until the cornstarch is fully dissolved, as it will help thicken up your broth. Mix it into the broth.

Next comes the best part: adding the eggs! 

Whisk together four eggs in a separate bowl. Hold a fork (or two chopsticks) over the edge of the bowl and slowly pour the eggs into the soup. Doing this will help control and break up the egg batter so you don't end up with one gigantic cooked scrambled egg mess on top of your soup. Instead, you'll get light strands of egg throughout the soup. Let the eggs cook for a little bit before using a spatula to break them up to a size you're happy with.

Once that's done, drizzle in two teaspoons of sesame oil and the chopped part of the green onions.

You're ready to serve!

Nice and simple, right? 

Despite all the culinary adventures I've had while writing this blog (for five years now!), I can be a really lazy cook. Like, really lazy. On nights when I'm not doing blog posts, I'm pretty much content to recycle the same four dishes over and over again because it's exhausting being at work all day and then making a meal from scratch. Finding a dish that's this easy to make, that's filling, not particularly expensive, and makes enough for leftovers? A big, big win in my book. 

It's also really, really good. I'm a little fussy about egg dishes and will admit I was worried about giving this a shot because I've had some egg drop soups that are a little too eggy for my liking, but the eggs were cooked through and well flavored with the seasoning from the broth. Textually, the soup was silky rather than slimy, even when reheated on the stove a few days later. I did think the original recipe was a little light on salt, but that might be the fault of my stock rather than the recipe itself. Just taste it while you're making it to see if you're happy with the salt level. 

In Good Luck, Ivy!, Ivy's surprised to find out that her grandparents' favorite treat is driving out of town to eat at an American diner because they don't want their loyal customers to think they don't love their own recipes or Chinese food. It's a cute story, and Ivy's frustration with feeling different from her gymnastics teammates is definitely relatable, but if they make an egg drop soup that's even a fraction of how good this one came out, I'd definitely look forward to visiting their restaurant any chance I got!

What's your favorite dish on a chilly winter day?