Egg Drop Soup

Egg Drop Soup

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 for a light dinner

What You Need

Ingredients

Soup Ingredients
4 cups (32 ounces) chicken or vegetable stock or broth
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
2 to 4 large eggs
Salt or soy sauce

Flavoring Extras (use one or all)
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into rounds
1 stem lemongrass, bruised
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
2 star anise
6 to 8 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons miso

Soup Extras (use one or all)
1/2 block (7 to 8 ounces) extra-firm tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch baby bok choy, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, thinly sliced

Equipment

Medium saucepan
Measuring cups and spoons

1. Warm the stock or broth: Pour the stock into a saucepan and place over medium-high heat. Put the smaller flavoring extras you're using into a tea ball or spice bag. Add all your flavoring extras to the saucepan with the stock. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Scoop out all the flavoring extras with a slotted spoon. Taste and add salt or soy sauce as needed.
2. Add any extra ingredients: Add any soup extras to the stock and simmer for five minutes. Save some scallions for sprinkling on top of the soup at the end.
3. Whisk cornstarch into the broth: Scoop out 1/4 cup or so of the stock and whisk it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a small bowl. Whisk this back into the stock and let it simmer for a minute or two until the broth no longer tastes starchy.
4. Whisk the eggs with cornstarch: Whisk together the eggs in a small bowl with the remaining teaspoon of cornstarch. Make sure your soup is at a bare simmer.
5. Drizzle the eggs into the hot broth: Holding a fork over the bowl, pour the eggs slowly through the tines. Whisk the broth gently with your other hand as you pour. Let the soup stand for a few seconds to finish cooking the eggs.
6. Serve immediately, topped with thinly sliced scallions.