Tomato Egg Drop Soup
Tomato Egg drop soup is a variation of the classic Chinese Egg drop soup. Tangy tomatoes give an interesting twist to this quick 15 minutes soup, made with a handful of pantry staples.
Chinese egg and tomato soup is comforting, and a perfect soup to whip up when you have a time crunch. You will be surprised to see the ingredients list, it is short and most of the ingredients are readily available in your kitchen. And if you love Asian flavors, you will definitely be making this on repeat.
What is Egg Drop Soup?
Egg drop soup (Egg flower soup) is a popular Chinese soup, served at many Asian restaurants. Lightly Beaten egg is slowly added to the seasoned chicken broth to create ribbon-like strands of egg. The recipe is very simple and takes only 10 minutes to make. Season chicken stock with salt, sugar, sesame oil, and pepper, then thicken with cornstarch followed by incorporating the eggs. For rich color, restaurants also add turmeric or yellow food color.
What you need?
Have a look at the ingredients list below, all of these are simple and common ingredients that are readily available in your pantry. You might not even have to do a grocery run if planning to make this.
Egg: Free-range organic egg is what I prefer. But anything will do.
Tomato: Fresh ripe plum tomatoes. I generally don’t use canned ones. If you only have canned ones, use good-quality diced tomatoes (make sure its only tomato, no other flavoring or thickener)
Ginger and Garlic: Minced garlic ( use a knife to mince the garlic. Don’t use garlic paste as it might get stuck to the bottom of the pan). Cut ginger to julienne.
Chicken stock: Good quality low sodium chicken stock. Because stock is the base of the soup, a good quality stock will make a big difference.
Cooking Oil: Any neutral cooking oil
Soy Sauce: light soy sauce. Don’t use dark else the flavors would be too strong and also the color of the soup will change.
Sesame Oil: To season the soup towards the end.
Cornflour: Cornflour slurry is used to thicken the soup before adding eggs so that the eggs don’t settle down at the bottom.
Salt and white pepper
Green onion chopped
You can also use chopped cilantro/Coriander leaves to garnish.
Steps to make Tomato Egg Drop Soup
Keep all the ingredients ready because the recipe moves fast.
Heat oil in a soup pot. Saute garlic and ginger for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add chopped tomatoes along with all its juices along with a pinch of salt. Stir and cook on low-medium heat until tomatoes have softened. Add half of the chopped green onion to the tomatoes. Cover the tomatoes to cook faster.
Tomatoes once cooked should be mushy with no big chunks of tomatoes. You can press few chunks with the back of the spoon if required.
Add stock to the pot and bring to a slow boil. Lower the heat and Season the soup base with soy sauce, white pepper, sesame oil. Check the seasoning and add more salt if required.
Add water to cornstarch and make a slurry. Slowly add to the pot while stirring with your other hand. Keep stirring until cornstarch is incorporated well. Simmer the soup for a couple of minutes, the soup base will start to thicken slightly.
Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl. I like to use a pyrex measuring jug to beat the eggs. Pouring eggs is easier with a measuring jug.
Time to add egg mixture to the soup base and make those delicate egg ribbons.
Lower the heat and bring it to a simmer. Use a spatula with one hand, to stir the soup in a circular motion slowly. While making a whirlpool motion, slowly add beaten eggs. First, add 1/3rd of the egg mixture, and take pause while still making a circular motion. Then add another 1/3 of the egg mixture and keep stirring. Repeat the above step until all of the eggs are incorporated.
Soup Variation
This egg drop soup is really filling and tastes great as it is. For variation, you can add a few more ingredients that complement the soup flavour.
- Add cooked shredded chicken breast to make it more wholesome. You can add about 1 cup of shredded chicken after adding eggs. If the soup feels too thick, add another 1/2 cup of stock to get the right consistency.
- Add sweet corn, cooked sauteed mushroom, or a handful of spinach to it.
Storage and freezing suggestion
Leftovers can be stored for up to 2 days in the refrigerator and reheated in the microwave. But I have observed the soup becomes a bit watery after reheating but the taste is not altered.
This egg drop soup really takes less than 15 mins to make. So why not make it fresh instead of freezing the soup? I would not recommend freezing the soup because thawing and reheating it might change the consistency.
More Winter Soup Recipes to Try
Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup
Chinese Noodle Soup With Chicken
Tomato Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large Eggs
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon minced Garlic
- ½ tablespoon Ginger thinly sliced
- 2 large Ripe Tomatoes chopped
- 5 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
- 2 tablespoon light Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- ½ teaspoon White pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt (adjust as per taste)
- 2 tablespoon Cornflour / Cornstarch
- ½ cup Chopped Green Onion
Instructions
- To make slury, mix two tablespoons of water to cornstarch.
- Heat oil in a soup pot. Add minced garlic and ginger. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add chopped Tomatoes. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Until the tomato has softened and is mushy.
- Add half of the green onion and saute for 30 seconds.
- To the pot stir in chicken stock. Once it comes to a boil, then reduce the heat.
- Add soy sauce, salt, pepper, and sesame oil and mix.
- Slowly add cornstarch slury and keep stirring to avoid any lumps. The mixture will start to thicken slowly. Simmer for a minute.
- Meanwhile, beat three eggs in a bowl.
- Keep the flame low. Slowly drizzle the beaten egg into the pot while stirring the mixture with a ladle in a circular motion. This forms thin delicate egg ribbons.
- Simmer for a minute.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with green onions, and serve!
