A light, everyday home soup made all over China from two staple ingredients: ripe tomatoes and eggs. The tomatoes are skinned and cut into wedges or chunks and simmered in water or stock until they soften and release a faintly sweet-tart, lightly orange broth; beaten egg is then drizzled in a thin stream into the gently boiling liquid so it sets into soft floating ribbons rather than a solid mass. It is seasoned simply with salt and a little white pepper, often thinned to a clear soup or lightly thickened with a starch slurry, and finished with sesame oil and chopped scallion or coriander. This is the soup counterpart to the stir-fry 西红柿炒鸡蛋, and is among the most-cooked soups in Chinese home kitchens.
The soup has no single inventor or fixed date; it is a plain home dish that arose once the tomato became a common Chinese vegetable. Tomatoes reached China by sea in the late Ming dynasty but were long grown only as ornamentals, and were not widely eaten until farmers began cultivating them for the table in the early twentieth century, after which cooking tomato with egg became common around the 1930s. Pairing the same two ingredients in a soup rather than a stir-fry follows naturally from that staple combination; the exact origin of the soup form is unrecorded. It is universal in Chinese households precisely because it is cheap, fast, and made from ingredients almost always on hand.
A clean, light broth, faintly sweet and tart from the tomato, salty and warm with a touch of white pepper. The egg comes through as soft, silky ribbons that you can almost drink, never rubbery or in hard lumps; the tomato gives soft, slippery pieces with a little skinless flesh that dissolves into the soup. Done well, the egg is in fine drifting threads and the broth is rounded and savory; done badly, the egg is dumped in and seizes into a dense grey clot, or the soup is thin and watery because the tomato was barely cooked and gave up no flavor.
Two things make the soup work: drawing flavor out of the tomato, and setting the egg into fine ribbons. Simmering the skinned tomato breaks down its cell walls and releases its juices, which carry both acidity and a high level of natural glutamate — the same umami compound found in stock — so the tomato seasons the broth on its own. The egg ribbons depend on temperature and how the egg is added: egg proteins begin to coagulate around 62 to 65 degrees and a whole egg sets firm near 70 degrees, so the beaten egg must be poured in a thin stream into liquid that is hot but only just boiling, and stirred gently or left a few seconds, so each thread of egg sets the instant it hits the broth and floats as a soft ribbon. Pour it in all at once, or into liquid at a hard rolling boil, and the proteins seize too fast and too tightly into a dense lump; a small starch slurry, if used, suspends the ribbons evenly and keeps them from sinking.
Variations
The most common split is between a clear soup (清汤) and one lightly thickened with a cornstarch or potato-starch slurry; the thickened version holds the egg ribbons suspended and is slightly richer on the spoon. Some cooks fry the tomato in a little oil first to deepen the color and flavor before adding water, while others simply boil it; a pinch of sugar is often added to balance the acidity. Common additions are a few drops of sesame oil, white pepper, scallion or coriander to finish, and sometimes silken tofu, wood ear, or a handful of greens. It is the close sibling of the stir-fry 西红柿炒鸡蛋 and of 西红柿鸡蛋面, where the same broth is poured over noodles.
On the Palate
Where Tomato and Egg Drop Soup sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 3
How it's made
7 steps · 12 min active + 3 min waiting
- 13 min
Blanch ripe tomatoes briefly in hot water, peel off the skins, and cut into wedges or rough chunks.
- 21 min
Beat the eggs in a bowl until the yolks and whites are fully blended and slightly frothy; set aside.
- 32 min
Optionally soften the tomato in a little oil in the pot for a minute to deepen the color, then add water or light stock and bring to a simmer.
- 44 min
Simmer until the tomato is soft and the broth turns faintly orange and tastes lightly sweet-tart; season with salt, a little sugar, and white pepper.
Watch outSimmer until the tomato softens and the broth tastes lightly sweet-tart — the tomato's own glutamate seasons the soup, so cook it down to draw that out.
- 51 min
If you want a thicker soup, stir in a thin cornstarch or potato-starch slurry and let it return to a gentle boil.
- 61 min
With the soup hot but only just boiling, pour the beaten egg in a thin stream around the pot, then stir gently once or leave a few seconds so it sets into soft ribbons.
Watch outWith the soup hot but only just boiling, pour the beaten egg in a thin stream — too cold and it clouds, too violent a boil and it shreds; you want soft ribbons.
- 71 min
Turn off the heat, drizzle in sesame oil, scatter chopped scallion or coriander, and serve hot.
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