This Wonton Egg Drop Soup evokes cherished memories of our family’s restaurant days. While you may have only tasted it at a Chinese restaurant, it’s incredibly easy to prepare at home. Simply boil your favorite frozen wontons and ladle them over this quick and perfectly golden egg drop soup for a delicious meal any time of day!
Another Old School Chinese Menu Favorite
Recently, Sarah dined out with her husband and father-in-law, an old-school New Yorker who has a deep appreciation for Chinese cuisine. Although it wasn’t on the menu, he ordered wonton egg drop soup. Essentially, this dish replaces the standard wonton broth with egg drop soup!
My dad reminisced that many customers would request the same at my grandparents’ Chinese restaurant back in the day. He explained that they would often ladle in some wonton broth or cooking water along with the egg drop soup to thin it out and enhance the flavor.
Add this comforting egg drop soup to your repertoire, alongside our original Egg Drop Soup and Chicken Corn Soup!
Starting with Our Restaurant-Style Egg Drop
My dad Bill’s Egg Drop Soup recipe has truly stood the test of time, which is no surprise since it comes straight from my grandparents’ Chinese restaurant kitchen.
The hint of turmeric gives it that signature bright yellow color (no artificial coloring here!), and the seasoning is perfectly balanced for that comforting flavor that always hits the spot. Honestly, every time we make it, we wonder why we don’t have it more often!
You won’t need soy sauce, ginger, or garlic—just scallions. With just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients, you can whip up the best egg drop soup right in your kitchen.
Tip for the Perfect Egg Drop
The speed at which you stir the soup while adding the egg determines whether you achieve large “egg flowers” or smaller swirls. Stir slowly for those beautiful, dramatic ribbons of egg, or quickly for delicate, smaller swirls! Personally, I prefer the larger ribbons—they’re so satisfying to slurp up with those wontons!
The Wontons: Go Homemade or Take a Shortcut
We have a plethora of wonton recipes on the blog (we’re a bit obsessed, I admit!), and we’ve even compiled a comprehensive 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 nearby.
If you’re in the mood to make your own wontons, here are some family favorites that would be fantastic in this soup:
Any of these would work wonderfully in this wonton egg drop soup.
However, to simplify the recipe, you can absolutely opt for frozen wontons. Our favorite Chinese brand, Wei-Chuan, also offers a delicious frozen pork and shrimp wonton. Prime Foods is another well-known Chinese grocery store brand that makes pork and shrimp wontons.
But let’s be honest—sometimes you just want dinner on the table FAST! That’s when frozen wontons come to the rescue. Our go-to brands are Wei-Chuan and Prime Foods, both of which make tasty pork and shrimp wontons.
The wontons featured in these photos are from a local spot in New York that delivers to our Chinese grocery store in New Jersey. Nowadays, 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 crave something cozy and satisfying without much effort!
Wonton Egg Drop Soup Recipe Instructions
Begin by bringing a pot of water to a boil for the wontons. Keep the wontons frozen until you’re ready to boil them to prevent them from becoming soggy and breaking apart 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 worked wonderfully! This is a great way to always have chicken stock on hand.
Stir in the salt, MSG (if using), sugar, and white pepper. If desired, add turmeric for that rich restaurant-style yellow color. The chicken bouillon paste we used was quite yellow (with turmeric listed as an ingredient!), so we only needed ¼ teaspoon of turmeric. Add the sesame oil, taste the soup, and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Mix cornstarch with water to create a slurry. Stir thoroughly before adding to the soup, as cornstarch settles quickly. Ensure the soup is bubbling lightly, and then stir in the cornstarch slurry. If you prefer a thinner soup, don’t use all of it. You can also add the starch in small batches, allowing the soup to simmer for a couple of minutes before checking the consistency.
Now for the most exciting part: the egg. This recipe calls for the egg to be lightly beaten, resulting 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. The general rule is that once the wontons float, cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Adding the wontons will slow the boiling water to a simmer, so maintain a gentle boil. A rolling boil can overcook the wrapper before the filling is done, causing breakage.
To serve, ladle 3 wontons into a small bowl with a 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 a quick standalone meal. The recipe yields 6 small servings of Wonton Egg Drop Soup—perfect for an appetizer portion. If you’re making a meal out of it, plan for 6 wontons per serving to serve 3 people.
If you’d like to add some vegetables, we recommend choosing a wonton that contains vegetables rather than adding greens directly to the soup. However, if you want to include a few leaves of baby spinach or other delicate leafy greens, feel free to do so!
