Egg drop soup

Egg drop soup

Type	Soup
Place of origin	China
Main ingredients	Eggs, chicken broth, condiments (black pepper or white pepper), scallions, tofu
Media: Egg drop soup

Egg drop soup
Traditional Chinese	蛋花湯
Literal meaning	egg flower soup
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dànhuātāng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping daan2 faa1 tong1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ tàn-hue-kenn, tàn-hue-kinn
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	蛋花羹
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin dànhuāgēng Yue: Cantonese Jyutping daan2 faa1 gang1

Egg drop soup, also known as egg flower soup, (Chinese: 蛋花湯; pinyin: Dànhuātāng) is a Chinese soup of wispy beaten eggs in chicken broth. Condiments such as black or white pepper, and finely chopped scallions and tofu are commonly added to the soup. The soup is made by adding a thin stream of beaten eggs to the boiling broth in the final moments of cooking, creating thin, silken strands or flakes of cooked egg that float in the soup.

American Chinese cuisine

A bowl of egg drop soup in the United States

In the United States egg drop soup is often one of the main soups offered in American Chinese cuisine, and is also called egg flower soup, a literal translation of its Chinese name, on the menus of some restaurants. Cornstarch may be used to thicken it.

Chinese cuisine

In Chinese cuisine, egg drop soups have a thinner consistency than most common Western variants. Depending on the region, they may be garnished with ingredients such as tofu, scallion, bean sprouts and corn.

Laotian cuisine

Mee ka tee

Mee ka tee is a Laotian red curry and coconut milk egg drop noodle soup.

European cuisine

In Italy, stracciatella, a version made with egg and parmesan cheese, is popular, as is zuppa pavese, consisting of broth into which slices of stale bread and poached eggs are placed.

In France, tourin, a garlic soup, is made with egg whites which are drizzled into the soup in a similar way to how traditional egg drop soup is made.

In Spain, the similar and traditional sopa de ajo ("garlic soup") uses egg whites to thicken the broth in a similar way.

In Austria, egg drop soup (Eierflockensuppe or Eierflöckchensuppe) is a simple, traditional recipe generally made for very young children or sick people. Scrambled eggs are mixed with flour and then poured into boiling soup in order to make small egg dumplings. Spices can be added to the egg-flour mixture according to taste.

There is a similar recipe in Polish cuisine (kluski lane, lit. 'poured noodles'), with the egg-flour mixture either poured directly into soup, or into boiling water, then strained and added to a soup or sauce. For children, often simmering milk (optionally with sugar) is used in place of soup.

In Russia, semolina is usually boiled in the chicken stock before the eggs are whisked in for a more substantial result, and flavored with chopped scallion and black pepper. Simple egg dough dumplings similar to lazy vareniki (варе́ники) or the Ukrainian halušky (галушка) are a frequent addition in the southern regions.

In Cyprus and Greece the egg is beaten and then slowly stirred in the soup so it does not curdle. Lemon and rice are the additional ingredients besides the chicken stock to make avgolemono (αβγολέμονο), originally a dish from Jewish cuisine.

See also

• Egg tong sui
• Stracciatella (soup)
• List of Chinese soups