Achieve Perfect Egg Drop Soup Ribbons With This Viral Technique

Without a doubt, the most important aspect of egg drop soup is, well, the egg. That being said, it can be tricky to get perfect ribbons of egg when making this steamy dish at home. If the temperature is too high, you can end up with scrambled eggs bobbing around in your soup. If you pour the egg too quickly, you can end up with a big clump of it, as opposed to evenly dispersed ribbons.

Fortunately, there's a simple way to ensure you get long, elegant egg ribbons dancing in your broth every time. Rather than dump your beaten eggs straight into the soup, recipe developer Chris Joe (aka CJ Eats) posted a video on Instagram that recommends mixing a little water into your bowl of eggs and then pouring them in a thin, slow trickle. You can stir between pours to break up the egg, but stir gently so you don't dismantle the long, dainty strands.

On the other hand, if you like shorter strips of egg, you can gently stir the soup as you pour in your egg, breaking up the pieces before they're fully cooked. You should still add the egg slowly for the best results.

Sometimes you need all the tips and tricks you can get when working in the kitchen, especially if you're making a dish for the first time. Worry not, egg drop soup lovers, we have a few more bits of advice that you can use alongside CJ Eats' hack for adding water to your beaten eggs.

For one, you might want to consider preheating your eggs. To quickly warm eggs, place them in a bowl of warm water -– do not microwave the eggs, as you risk cooking them. Because the eggs will be closer in temperature to the soup when you add them, they'll already be on their way to firming up and will hold a ribbon shape more easily. On a similar note, you should have your soup off your heat source when adding the eggs; too high a temperature, and you'll end up with instant scrambled eggs.

Another good trick for making egg ribbons is to add the egg to your soup in a circular motion. This disperses the egg stream more effectively than if you were to pour in a single spot. After pouring, you should let the egg ribbons set for several seconds before you stir, so they stand a better chance of holding the ribbon shape. Your favorite egg drop soup recipe just got a whole lot easier.