Tomato Egg Soup (Souper Easy, Soul Food)
My favorite category for foods is not dessert. Nope, its soup. I LOVE soup. To the age-old question if you were stranded on a desert island and could only have three things…soup would most definitely be on my list.
Growing up, my dad almost always made soup with dinner. Weeknight dinners meant a quick soup like Corn Soup or Egg Drop Soup. This is a twist on egg drop soup. With tomato season in full swing, this is the perfect time to make Tomato Egg Drop Soup.
I adapted a recipe I found on The Woks of Life, a fabulous blog/website for Asian recipes and stories. My version includes a bit of ground meat for flavor and texture because that’s how my Dad made it. The cornstarch slurry gives the soup a bit of body, you can leave it out if you wish. This is great as a noodle soup also. Delicious with rice noodles, and hand-pulled noodles.
The Key
The key to this recipe is not just great tomatoes, but how to create the egg ribbons in the soup. The direct translation of the name is actually Egg Flower Soup as the egg resembles a flower. When adding the egg, make sure the soup is on low heat so that the soup is at a gentle simmer. Add the egg in a slow steady stream as you swirl the soup in ONE DIRECTION with either chopsticks or a spoon. If you move your utensil in different directions you will not get the ribbons of egg. You can hold the soup at a gentle simmer, do not boil the soup as that can curdle the egg. Garnish with green onions or cilantro, I like both.
Try this quick and easy homey soup, I think you’ll like it.
Tomato Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 10 ounces tomatoes, peeled 1 large or 3-4 small, about 280g; cut into small chunks
Stock
- 2 cups chicken stock 480 ml
- 1 cup water
Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce or soup soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 egg beaten
Thickener
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water or broth optional
Garnish
- 1 scallion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped, optional
Protein Option
- 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1/2 Cup Ground beef preferably can substitute ground pork or chicken
Marinade
- 1 Tsp Soy sauce regular or light
- 1 Tsp Oyster sauce
- 1 Tsp Rice wine
- 1 slice fresh ginger smash to release flavor
- 1/4 Tsp Granulated sugar
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- dash White pepper
Instructions
- Combine seasonings for meat mixture, mix with ground meat Let sit for 10 minutes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 3-4 qt pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and sauté’ just until meat loses pinkness. Remove from pot and reserve.
- In the same pot, heat 2 T oil over medium-low heat. Add the tomato chunks and stir-fry for 5 minutes until the tomatoes are softened and fall apart.
- Add chicken stock, water, seasonings, and salt to taste*. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so soup is just at a simmer with the lid on. Allow soup to simmer for 10 minutes.
- *Add meat, if using, with the stock and water. Bring back to a boil and immediately lower heat so soup is at a simmer. Taste soup and add salt or soy sauce if needed. Do add the sesame oil and ground pepper. Then allow soup to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.
- Make the cornstarch slurry in a small bowl. If the soup is for noodles omit cornstarch slurry. If serving as a soup, increase heat to medium and add cornstarch slurry to soup. Bring soup to a soft boil to allow the cornstarch to thicken the soup. Once it thickens turn the heat back down to low.
- Pour a thin stream of egg into the soup. Let it sit for a couple of seconds just to set the egg a bit, then, with chopsticks or a spoon, gently swirl the soup in a whirlpool motion in one direction. This creates the ribbons of egg characteristic of egg drop soup.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with green onions and cilantro. Serve immediately