Vegan Egg Drop Soup (A Recipe From My Cookbook)

Vegan egg drop soup is made with plant-based ingredients and preserves all the character of the original version. The tender yuba sheets mimic the egg ribbons, and swim in a gingery savory soup that has a lovely bright yellow color. It’s a dish that takes no time to put together and is a comforting addition to the dinner table. {Vegan, Gluten-Free}

A Sneak Peek at the New Cookbook

Today I’m excited to share a recipe from my new cookbook – Chinese Homestyle: Everyday Plant-Based Recipes for Takeout, Dim Sum, Noodles, and More. This recipe is one that I’ve been enjoying quite often since developing it, because it’s delicious and so easy to make.

My goal with the book was to create recipes that are true to the spirit of home-cooked Chinese cuisine and celebrate the richness of Chinese plant-based ingredients, and this recipe is a prime example of that approach. It uses one of my favorite forms of tofu known as yuba or “tofu skin” in place of the egg and the broth is rich and comforting.

Other recipes you’ll find in the book include:

• BBQ Char Siu Buns
• Mushroom Fried Rice
• Kung Pao Tofu
• Bang Bang King Oyster Mushrooms
• Chinese Stir Fried Okra

The official release is September 20, 2022 and you can find it at every major book retailer.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Bookshop | IndieBound

What Makes Vegan Egg Drop Soup Great

As an adventurous omnivore, I’m pretty particular about vegan food. And I wouldn’t share a vegan recipe with you if it wasn’t something I myself would enjoy eating. I can tell you that this vegan egg drop soup is worth your time for several reasons:

1. The broth is comforting and satisfying like chicken broth, but with a delightful subtle brightness – by using mushroom powder, ginger, white pepper, and turmeric the broth has both umami and a bit of “pop”.
2. The yuba sheets look like strands of egg and have a pretty geometry to them, but the real fun comes from their texture and mouthfeel. They have a light bounciness to them and they absorb all the richness of the broth.
3. It’s really easy to make, uses mostly dry pantry items, and takes just 15 minutes to prep and cook, so the convenience factor is very high.

Ingredients for vegan egg drop soup

A Brief Yuba Explainer

If you aren’t familiar with yuba, you are in for a treat. It’s tofu that is made in the form of very thin sheets. There are a few different varieties that are quite different from each other.

It can be dried, semi-dried, or fresh – and this dried/fresh factor will determine the texture.

• Dried yuba sheets may be found in packages on non-refrigerated shelves. They may take the form of long sticks. I don’t recommend dried yuba for this because its texture can be quite tough.
• Semi-dried yuba sheets are usually found refrigerated or frozen. They may be in very large, thin, and flat packages and have a shiny look. They have a bit of bounce to their texture and are good for this recipe.
• Fresh yuba sheets also come refrigerated or frozen, and they may be available fresh and unpackaged. They have an opaque beige look. The texture will be very tender and they are good for this soup, though they may fall apart a little bit and they may not have the ribbon-like appearance you see here.

A Note on Mushroom Powder

I used mushroom powder as my broth base in this, since it is a vegan alternative to chicken powder which is frequently used in Chinese home cooking. It has a great umami character to it and I use it in all sorts of dishes as a savory flavor booster. In this vegan egg drop soup in particular, I wanted a broth base that would have a clear, non-cloudy appearance, so the mushroom powder was perfect for it.

I realize that it’s quite salty and might not be to everyone’s liking, so you may want to try some alternatives:

• Skip the mushroom powder, use vegetable broth instead of water, and add salt to taste
• Use miso instead of mushroom powder
• Use vegetable broth base (e.g. Better Than Bouillon brand)

Set up

When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:

• Mixed spices
• Ginger and green onion (white part)
• Yuba sheet
• Sesame oil
• Mushroom powder
• Green onion (green part)

NOTE: I separated the yuba sheet to give the soup the best apparence when I was doing the cookbook photography. This step is usually not required because the yuba sheets usually separate themselves when you add to the soup.

How to cook vegan egg drop soup

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the aromatics
2. Thicken the soup using the spice mix
3. Briefly cook the yuba sheet
4. Finish up with sesame oil

Final Thoughts

Even though it’s a really simple one, this vegan egg drop soup is one of my favorite recipes from the upcoming book. It, like all the recipes in the book, uses real Chinese ingredients and flavors and an approachable cooking method to make tasty plant-based dishes that you can easily work into your weekly rotation.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and if you do, check out my book for much more in the same spirit!

More delicious plant-based recipes

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Vegan Egg Drop Soup (A Recipe From My Cookbook)

Vegan egg drop soup is made with plant-based ingredients and preserves all the character of the original version. The tender yuba sheets mimic the egg ribbons, and swim in a gingery savory soup that has a lovely bright yellow color. It’s a dish that takes no time to put together and is a comforting addition to the dinner table. {Vegan, Gluten-Free}

Author: Maggie Zhu

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: homestyle

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Spice mix

• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder for the yellow color (Optional)

Soup

• 4 cups water
• 3 green onions thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 slices ginger
• 2 teaspoons mushroom powder
• 4 fresh yuba sheets or 1 semi-dried yuba sheet cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil

Instructions

• To make the spice mix: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to mix well.

• To cook the soup: Add the water, the white part of the green onion and ginger in a small pot. 3. Cook over high heat until brought to a boil. Turn to a low heat and let the soup reduce to a simmer.

• Whisk the spice mix again until the cornstarch is fully dissolved, pour into the soup. Stir to mix well and simmer until the soup is slightly thickened, 30 seconds or so. Add the mushroom powder and stir to mix well.

• Add the yuba sheet. Cook for another minute, or until it turns tender. Carefully taste the soup. Add a bit more salt or mushroom powder if needed.

• Drizzle sesame oil and sprinkle with the green part of the green onion. Give it a final stir to mix well and serve hot.

Notes

1. I personally do not like to use packaged vegetable stock as the soup base because the taste usually does not work well with Chinese seasoning, plus many vegetable stocks are too sweet. So I used mushroom powder with water, which is a very common approach for Chinese home cooks. If you do not like to use mushroom powder, try using 2 to 3 teaspoons white miso paste. It’s not a Chinese ingredient but I always keep a jar at home. I usually use it to add umami to the soup. Use less amount than you usually do in a miso soup, so it serves a flavor enhancer.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 5.7g, Protein: 5.5g, Fat: 3.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.8g, Sodium: 164mg, Potassium: 37mg, Fiber: 1.4g, Sugar: 0.5g, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 1mg