This Wonton Egg Drop Soup brings back memories of our family’s restaurant days. Why you may have only had it in a Chinese restaurant, it’s so simple to make at home. Just boil your favorite frozen wontons and ladle over this quick, perfectly golden egg drop soup for a delicious and fast meal any time of day!
Another Old School Chinese Menu Favorite
Sarah recently went out to dinner with her husband and father-in-law—an old school New York guy who loves his Chinese food. It wasn’t on the menu, but he ordered a wonton egg drop soup. Basically, instead of the standard wonton broth, you get egg drop soup!
My dad said that many folks would order the same thing at my grandparents’ Chinese restaurant back in the day. What they would do, he said, is to ladle in some of the wonton broth or cooking water along with the egg drop to thin it out and give it a little extra flavor.
Add this to your rotation of comforting egg drop soups—alongside our original Egg Drop Soup and Chicken Corn Soup!
Starting with Our Restaurant-Style Egg Drop
My dad Bill’s recipe for Egg Drop Soup has really stood the test of time—not surprising, seeing as it is straight out of my grandparents’ Chinese restaurant kitchen.
The little touch of turmeric gives it that signature bright yellow color (no artificial coloring here!), and the seasoning is perfectly balanced for that comforting flavor that hits the spot every single time. Honestly, whenever we make it, we wonder why we don’t have it more often!
You don’t need soy sauce, ginger, or garlic—just scallions. With just a small handful of easy-to- find ingredients, you can make the best egg drop soup in your own kitchen.
Tip for the Perfect Egg Drop
The speed at which you stir the soup when adding the egg determines whether you get large “egg flowers” or small egg flowers (i.e. swirly bits of egg). Stir slowly for those beautiful, dramatic ribbons of egg, or quickly for delicate, smaller swirls! I personally prefer the bigger ribbons — they’re so satisfying to slurp up with those wontons!
The Wontons: Go Homemade or Take a Shortcut
We have SO many wonton recipes on the blog (we’re a little wonton-obsessed, I admit!) that we actually put together an entire wonton guide. It covers all our recipes, folding techniques, and even how to make your own wrappers from scratch if you’re feeling ambitious or don’t have a Chinese grocery near you.
If you’re in the mood to make your own wontons, here are some family favorites that would be great in this soup:
- Simple Wonton Soup
- Shanghai Wonton Soup
- San Xian Wontons (Shrimp, Pork & Chicken Wontons)
- Mom’s Chicken Wontons
- Cantonese Wontons
Any of these would go great in this wonton egg drop soup.
To make this recipe easier, however, you can absolutely buy frozen wontons. Our favorite Chinese brand of frozen dumplings, Wei-chuan also makes a frozen pork and shrimp wonton. Prime Foods is another popular Chinese grocery store brand that makes pork and shrimp wontons.
But let’s be real — sometimes you just want dinner on the table FAST! That’s when frozen wontons come to the rescue. Our go-to Chinese brands are Wei-chuan and Prime Foods, both of which make delicious pork and shrimp wontons.
The wontons you see in these photos actually come from a local spot in New York that delivers to our Chinese grocery store in New Jersey. These days, you can even find frozen wontons in mainstream grocery stores like Trader Joe’s.
So what are you waiting for? This soup is calling your name on the next chilly evening when you need something cozy and satisfying without a lot of effort!
Wonton Egg Drop Soup Recipe Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the wontons. Keep the wontons frozen right up until you’re ready to boil them, or they will become soggy and break open during cooking.
In a wide soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. In these photos, we used chicken stock made from Better Than Bouillon chicken base, which actually worked great! This is a great way to have chicken stock on hand at all times.
Stir in the salt, MSG (if using), sugar, and white pepper. Add in the turmeric, if using. This will give the soup that rich restaurant-style yellow color, but it is optional. The chicken bouillon paste we used was quite yellow (turmeric is listed as an ingredient!), so we only needed ¼ teaspoon turmeric. Add the sesame oil, taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Mix the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry. Mix thoroughly before adding to the soup, as cornstarch settles very quickly. Make sure the soup is bubbling lightly, and stir in the cornstarch slurry. If you prefer a thinner soup, don’t use all of it. You can also add the starch in a couple small batches, let the soup simmer for a couple of minutes, then check to see if the consistency is to your liking.
Now we’re ready for the most exciting part: the egg. This recipe calls for the egg to be lightly beaten, which results in both white and yellow egg swirls. Use a ladle to stir the soup in a circular motion (slower for large ribbons of egg, or faster for smaller ones), and slowly drizzle in the egg in a thin stream.
Stir in the scallions.
By now, the water for the wontons should be boiling. Cook the wontons according to the package instructions. General rule of thumb is once the wontons are floating, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Once you add the wontons, the boiling water will slow to a simmer. Keep it at a gentle boil. A rolling boil can actually cause the wrapper to be overcooked by the time the filling cooks through, causing breakage.
To serve the soup, ladle 3 wontons into a small bowl with a little bit of the wonton cooking water. Then ladle over the egg drop soup and serve.
How many does this serve?
This Wonton Egg Drop Soup makes a delicious appetizer or standalone quick meal. This recipe yields 6 small servings of Wonton Egg Drop Soup—akin to an “appetizer” portion. If you’re making a meal out of it, figure 6 wontons per serving to serve 3 people.
If you want to add some vegetables, we recommend looking for a wonton that has vegetables inside rather than adding greens to the soup itself. But if you want to add a few leaves of baby spinach or other quick cooking delicate leafy vegetables, you can go right ahead!
Wonton Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 18 frozen wontons (3 wontons per serving)
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon MSG (optional, increase amount to personal preference)
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon turmeric (optional, but if you want "the look…")
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 large eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 scallion (chopped)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil for the wontons. Keep the wontons frozen right up until you’re ready to boil them, or they will become soggy and break open during cooking.
- In a wide soup pot, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Stir in the salt, MSG (if using), sugar, and white pepper. Add in the turmeric, if using. Add the sesame oil, taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Mix the cornstarch with the water to make a slurry. Mix thoroughly before adding to the soup, as cornstarch settles very quickly. Make sure the soup is bubbling lightly, and add the cornstarch slurry, stirring continuously as you drizzle it in to avoid clumps. If you prefer a thinner soup, don’t use all of it.
- Use a ladle to stir the soup in a circular motion (slower for large ribbons of egg, or faster for smaller ones), and slowly drizzle in the egg in a thin stream. Stir in the scallions.
- By now, the water for the wontons should be boiling. Cook the wontons according to the package instructions. General rule of thumb is once the wontons are floating, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Once you add the wontons, the boiling water will slow to a simmer. Keep it at a gentle boil.
- To serve the soup, ladle 3 wontons into a small bowl with a little bit of the wonton cooking water. Then ladle over the egg drop soup and serve.
