10 Minute Homemade Egg Drop Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for MSG in egg drop soup? ›

A substitute for MSG in egg drop soup is to use umami-rich ingredients like soy sauce, fish sauce, nutritional yeast, or chicken or mushroom bouillon for added depth of flavor without MSG.

It's okay if you have to adjust while cooking – if it's too thin, add more cornstarch. If it's too thick, add more water, stock, or broth.

Egg drop soup is a popular takeout staple at Chinese restaurants made with wispy beaten eggs in chicken broth. It's normally seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper, thickened with a cornstarch slurry, and garnished with chopped green onions.

The bright yellow color is achieved naturally in this recipe with turmeric. Restaurant-style egg drop soup often uses yellow food dye to achieve that color. You can get a brighter yellow color naturally by adding more turmeric, and using pasture-raised eggs (which have a brighter yellow yolk).

Soy sauce and other commercial sauces

Soy sauce is a good substitute, rich in umami. As with broth cubes, first check the list of ingredients to ensure that there is no MSG added. Oyster sauce, fish sauce (nam pla), and Worcestershire sauce can also be used to enhance the taste of dishes.

With the egg drop soup, you get cholesterol and saturated fat from the eggs in high-sodium chicken broth. The hot and sour soup has tofu and vegetables, but is loaded with sodium-rich soy sauce. Which is worse? At about 100 calories per cup, "calorically, they're okay," says Klatell.

Egg drop soup is quite healthy. Egg drop soup calories and carbohydrates are low, which makes the dish good for people watching their weight. While the chicken broth and eggs are nutritious, this soup has the drawback of being high in sodium. However, you can reduce the saltiness by making the dish at home.

How to Store Egg Drop Soup. Store your leftover egg drop soup for up to four days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Beating the eggs with cornstarch before adding to the broth thickens them so they will be evenly distributed throughout the broth.

Is egg drop soup good when sick? ›

It's especially perfect when you're sick and trying to rest up and recover. It takes minimal effort, is soothing on your throat, and actually provides some nutrients to help keep your energy up. Please don't wait to make this until your next head cold, you really need egg drop soup in your life immediately!

Don't let your broth come to a boil. The cornstarch in the mixture will make the soup slimy if it boils.

Fermented foods.

Foods such as soy sauce, kimchi (fermented vegetables), miso (soybean paste), and natto (fermented whole soybeans) are fermented. The fermentation process, like the curing process, also breaks down glutamate into free glutamate and gives a stronger umami taste.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavour enhancer that improves the savoury experience of foods and is the prototypical chemical associated with the 'umami' taste⁽, ^{1 – 3 )}.

Chinese food and soups contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) as the main addictive ingredient. A sensitive individual may suffer from headache, giddiness, sweating, abdominal pain, and urticaria within a few hours of consumption of MSG.