• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Umami Days

Umami Days

Meaty with a dash of veggies

  • Pick a meal
    • One Bowl Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
      • Summer drinks
      • Cold weather drinks
      • Cocktail hour
  • Pick your protein
    • Chicken, duck & turkey
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Eggs
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
  • Pick your carb
    • Rice & grains
    • Noodles
    • Bread
  • Newsletter
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • Newsletter sign-up!
  • Recipe index
    • By Meal
      • One Bowl Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch / Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Salads
        • Soups
        • Main Courses
        • Side Dishes
        • Sweets
      • Snacks
      • Drinks
        • Refreshing summer drinks
        • Cold weather drinks
        • Cocktail hour
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken, duck & turkey
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
      • Mushrooms
      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
    • By Carb
      • Rice & grains
      • Noodles
      • Bread
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Eggs Lunch / Dinner Soups

Japanese egg drop soup

Published: 09.03.2021 » Last updated: 12.09.2022

Egg drop soup is associated with Chinese cuisine but, yes, it is also very popular in Japan. What sets Japanese egg drop soup apart from its obvious Chinese ancestor? The broth is made with dashi.

Japanese egg drop soup

Dashi, of course, is a broth made with kombu and bonito flakes. One of the many things I learned by talking with shop owners in Nishiki Market in Osaka is that bonito flakes may be made with the light or dark meat of skipjack tuna and that they can be thickly or thinky shaved.

Thinly-sliced light-colored bonito flakes are best for garnishing dishes like okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Deep pink bonito flakes made with the dark meat of the fish make a stronger broth.

Boiling bonito flakes and kombu to make dashi

While you can do a short cut by using dashi granules to make Japanese egg drop soup, if you’re in the mood to make your own dashi, know that you can use light-colored bonito flakes for a lighter broth or darker bonito flakes for a more robust flavor.

Soaking seaweeds in water and stirring starcg in water

Mushrooms, seaweed or other vegetables can be added to the basic Japanese egg drop soup. If adding anything that requires rehydration or lengthy cooking, precook it before adding to the dashi. In this recipe, rehydrated slivers black fungus (wood ears) were added to the soup.

As with any egg drop soup, a little cornstarch dispersed in water (some call it “slurry” but I really loathe that term) is stirred into the broth to thicken it a bit. A slightly thickened broth allows the egg clouds to remain suspended near the surface instead of sinking to the bottom.

Adding soy sauce and rehydrated seaweed to dashi in pot

Once your dashi is ready, season it with a little soy sauce. Bonito flakes are salty so the dashi already has a bit of saltiness to it. So, use soy sauce sparingly. Don’t omit it though as it gives the soup a richer flavor and deeper color. Once the broth has been seasoned, drop in your additional ingredients.

Pouring cornstarch solution to broth to thicken

Now, thicken the broth by pouring your starch solution in a thin stream. Stir and cook until the cloudiness has disappeared. To make sure that the starch is fully cooked, simmer thr soup for a few minutes. Taste and see if no powdery sensation remains in your mouth.

Pouring beaten eggs into broth in pot

Pour in beaten eggs in a circular motion so that the eggs are distributed over the entire surface of the broth. Let the eggs firm up a bit before stirring. Your Japanese egg drop soup is now ready to be garnished and served.

Japanese egg drop soup

Connie Veneracion
This recipe includes instructions for making dashi from scratch. If you prefer a short cut, simply stir about two tablespoons of dashi granules (available in Japanese groceries) into water and heat to make the broth.
Japanese egg drop soup
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Soaking time 15 mins
Total Time 35 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup kombu pieces
  • ¼ cup bonito flakes
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • salt
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch - dispersed in two tablespoons of water
  • 2 eggs - beaten
  • thinly sliced scallions - to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Pour six cups of water into a pot and add the kombu and bonito flakes.
  • Bring to the boil, simmer for five minutes then turn off the heat. Leave to steep for 10 to 15 minutes then strain.
  • Pour the strained liquid (that's your dashi) into a clean pot.
  • Turn on the stove and pour in the soy sauce. Taste and add as much salt is needed to get a good flavor.
  • If you're adding extra ingredients to your egg drop soup (mushrooms, seaweeds or vegetables), add them now.
  • Stir in the starch solution. The broth will appear cloudy but, as it heats up, it will turn clear again.
  • Simmer the broth for about five minutes then turn off the heat.
  • Pour the beaten eggs in a thin stream over the entire surface of the broth.
  • Leave to let the eggs cook in the broth before stirring gently.
  • Ladle your Japanese egg drop soup into bowls, sprinkle in scallions and serve.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Dashi, egg drop soup, Soup

More Eggs

Filipino chicken adobo and quail eggs canapes

Filipino chicken adobo and quail eggs canapés

Thai stuffed omelette (khai yat sai)

Thai stuffed omelette (khai yat sai)

Chinese sausage and egg rice bowl

Chinese sausage and egg rice bowl

Chirashi (scattered) sushi platter

Chirashi (scattered) sushi platter

Smoked fish, salted eggs and tomato spring rolls with rice, mangoes and vegetables in bowl

Smoked fish, salted eggs and tomato spring rolls

Cheese and mushroom omelette

Cheese and mushroom omelette

Newsletter department

  • #18 Cooking for Lent
    03.23.2023
    A few readers have emailed asking me to post recipes for Lent, and I tell them there is NO need for NEW recipes. Instead, they should try digging into the seafood, mushrooms and tofu recipe archives.

Sidebar

Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Chicken, tomatoes and thyme in olive oil, with pot of thyme in background

Chicken, tomatoes and thyme in olive oil

Kung Pao tofu

10-minute Kung Pao tofu

Kung pao chicken

Kung pao chicken

Macaroni salad with ham and cheese, carrot, celery, crushed pineapple, pickle relish and mayo

Macaroni salad with ham and cheese

Udon and pork with chili peanut sauce garnished with scallions and sesame seeds

Udon and pork with chili peanut sauce

Potatoes and green beans salad

Umami Days is powered by Apple, Canon, coffee & one bowl meals · Copyright © 2023 Connie Veneracion · All Rights Reserved