Tomato Egg Drop Soup

Tomato egg drop soup is a famous Chinese dish that is made of simple pantry staple ingredient. It's ready to be served in under 15 minutes, and is easy, healthy, and inexpensive to make. This dish is perfect for those days you're just craving nutrients for your body.

On the Chinese side of our family, soup is a very important dish of the meal. Traditionally, Chinese people always serve at least 3 dish and a soup. The soup is known to help digestion, and satiate hunger. It might also replace a beverage, as the soup is served throughout the meal.

What is Tomato Egg Drop Soup (番茄蛋花汤)

Tomato egg drop soup is one of the most popular soups in China, and in our household! Growing up, my mom and dad would make it all the time and I remember loving the sweet and sour flavors. It's the perfect light and savoury soup, that is healthy and also helps with digestion. It is a summer version of the famous egg drop soup, as tomatoes usually are in full growth during that season. It is made with pantry staple ingredients, and will take you less than 15 minutes to serve it.

The english name "egg drop" comes from literally having to drop your whisked eggs into the soup to form beautiful ribbons. In Chinese, the soup name actually translates to "egg flower soup", which refers to the way the egg blooms when dropped into the broth.

Serving Suggestions

This soup pairs perfectly with the dishes below:

• Stir-fried Chinese green beans with garlic
• Crispy chicken with salted egg yolk sauce
• Spicy Japanese garlic fried rice

How to Master the Egg Flower

Use a cornstarch slurry to thicken your broth. This will help make your strands of egg, instead of little bits that aren't as enjoyable to eat.

Use a measuring cup with a spout to make it easier to slowly drop your egg mixture. This is the exact one we used.

Lower the heat before pouring your egg mixture. It will prevent the eggs to create big chunks.

After pouring your egg mixture, wait a few seconds before stirring, to allow the egg to form bigger pieces, which we like.

If you want larger egg flowers, stir slowly, but if you want finer egg flowers, stir quickly.

Ingredients

• Use mature tomatoes. These will give more depth of flavor in your soup. Mature tomatoes are firm but not so hard that you can't squeeze them.
• Use low-sodium soy sauce. This soup if very light, so we recommend use low-sodium soy sauce to not over power the dish.
• Use high quality eggs. As the egg is one of the main ingredient, use high qualitym organic ones if you can.
• Don't skip on the white pepper. This will add a kick to your dish.
• Cilantro is optional. However, we highly recommend it as it add just enough freshness to the dish.

Instructions

1. Prep. Cut tomato in small chunks, and finely chop green onion. Prepare cornstarch slurry but mixing cornstarch and water together. Whisk egg and pour in a measuring cup with a spout.
2. Cook tomato. Heat oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add tomato chunks and stir-fry until they start to fall apart, about 5 minutes.
3. Incorporate broth. Pour chicken stock, light soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper and salt. Bring soup to a boil. Once it's boiling, add chopped green onion and lower heat to low.
4. Create egg flower. Slowly stir in a circular motion and pour in your cornstarch slurry. Stop stirring and pour your egg mixture creating strands of egg. Wait a few seconds and start slowly stirring again.
5. Assemble and enjoy! Serve the soup immediately or at room temperature if it's a hot summer day. Garnish with cilantro, optional.

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