This soothing soup is perfect for winter weather and Chinese New Year celebrations. (www.JasonCoblentz.com)

A favorite at Chinese restaurants across the country, egg drop soup is typically made with simply seasoned chicken or vegetable broth and filled with delicious silky ribbons of egg, which are created by whisking raw eggs into simmering broth. The direct translation in Chinese is “egg flower soup,” because the egg creates large and small swirls in the soup in a flowerlike pattern.

Need a great reason to make this soup? February 1, 2022, welcomed the Chinese New Year! What better way to celebrate the beginning of The Year of the Tiger than by enjoying a delectable bowl of egg drop soup? Besides, between the chilly winter weather and cold and flu season, everyone needs an easy, affordable, healthy and comforting soup this time of year. You’ll be thrilled to see how easy this is to prepare. It cooks in a mere 10 minutes, significantly faster than making chicken noodle soup. In fact, this soup might become your new staple recipe for soothing the sniffles.

The name “egg drop” comes from how the soup is made, but it has another fun meaning for me. When my kids were young, I would organize parties involving the classic “egg drop” science experiment. The kids were asked to construct some type of container that will keep a raw egg from cracking when dropped from ever-increasing elevations. So, what do you serve at this kind of party? Egg drop soup, naturally.

Consequently, my kids have such fond memories associated with egg drop soup that the recipe I’m sharing is from my youngest son, Billy. It’s his specialty and has been a family favorite for years.

BILLY’S EGG DROP SOUP

Yield: 4 (1 1/2 cup) servings

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

3 eggs

1 teaspoon sesame oil, optional

Chili garlic sauce, to taste, optional

1 to 2 green onions, thinly sliced

1. In a medium soup pot, bring the broth and soy sauce to a gentle boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
2. Once your stock has come to a simmer, reduce heat to low. Stir the stock to create a whirlpool, then gradually drizzle in the eggs as you continue to stir the stock. The egg will turn into those magical little ribbons.
3. Remove from heat and add the sesame oil and garlic chili sauce, if using (highly recommended!). Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onion.

Many restaurants serve thickened egg drop soup using cornstarch, but our recipe makes the equally delicious thinner version. If you’d prefer a thicker version, simply follow these easy steps:

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water until smooth. Slowly stir the cornstarch slurry into the simmering stock before adding the eggs. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.

Besides feeling like a culinary hug, this soup is also a blank canvas to add ingredients for variety. To boost the flavor of the broth, add a chicken bouillon cube and/or add 1/4 teaspoon each dried ground ginger and garlic powder. To the soup, you can add a drained can of corn, a block of cubed firm tofu, sauteed mushrooms, a cup of fresh or frozen peas, minced water chestnuts or a few handfuls of crispy bean sprouts for texture.

So, the next time you seek respite from the chill and feel the urge to order takeout, skip the delivery and head to your kitchen for a bowl filled with comfort. Enjoy!

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Lifestyle expert Patti Diamond is the penny-pinching, party-planning, recipe developer and content creator of the website “Divas On A Dime — Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous!” Visit Patti at www.divasonadime.com and join the conversation on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom. Email Patti at divapatti@divasonadime.com

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