This Cabbage Egg Drop Soup recipe is super-easy to make in just 20 minutes, and full of the best healthy ingredients and comforting flavors that I couldn’t love more.
Growing up, our family’s favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant went back and forth between serving two different kinds of egg drop soup on their menu — a classic egg drop soup and their signature cabbage egg drop soup. You never quite knew which version was going to appear in your bowl each time you ordered egg drop soup.
But cabbage soup day was my absolute fave. ♡♡♡
I know, the ingredient combination sounds a bit odd. And various friends of ours who came along for our Saturday Chinese lunch dates over the years definitely eyed their side soup bowls with a touch of suspicion when they arrived full of cabbage. But I’m telling you, every single person we introduced to this cabbage egg drop soup over the years ended up absolutely loving it. So much so that our little neighborhood joint became famous around the city just for this soup. It was legendary!
Unfortunately, this beloved family-owned restaurant was forced to close its doors over a decade ago, after a big bad chain buffet opened up as competition across the street. (Still sad about it over a decade later — it was such a loss for my hometown.) So ever since, I have been working to try and figure out how to recreate that famous cabbage egg drop soup here at home. And while no version in my mind will ever be quite the same as the original, I’ve finally landed on a recipe that I believe captures the magic of this cozy, comforting cabbage soup of my childhood.
So here it is — my favorite cabbage egg drop soup! It’s made with an entire head of good-for-you Napa cabbage, which cooks down until it’s super-soft and tender and blends in perfectly with all of those beautiful egg ribbons. Its cozy broth is lightly seasoned with garlic, ginger and a long drizzle of toasted sesame oil. It’s easy to make on the stovetop in just 20 minutes, and is naturally gluten-free and vegetarian. It works great served as a side dish with fried rice or your favorite stir-fries, or you can do what I do and just enjoy a huge bowl as a healthy main course. And best of all, it is just so, so, so good.
Quite simply, this soup is one of those nostalgic recipes that makes me really happy. So here’s to hoping you love it too!
Cabbage Egg Drop Soup Ingredients:
To make this cabbage egg drop soup recipe, you will need:
- Onion and garlic: Which we will sauté until softened, to form the base for our broth.
- Veggie stock: Or chicken stock, whichever you prefer.
- Napa cabbage: Pictured above (the frilly kind of cabbage!), which you can find at an Asian market if it’s not available at your usual grocery store.
- Ground ginger: I typically just reach for ground ginger since it’s quick and easy to use. But you could totally sub in fresh ginger if you prefer.
- White pepper: Whose flavor I love in this soup. If you have never cooked with white pepper before, note that it is significantly more potent than black pepper, so I recommend starting with a small amount and then adding more to taste. That said, if you don’t have white pepper on hand, you can also just substitute black pepper instead.
- Eggs: Which we will whisk and drizzle into the soup to create beautiful egg ribbons.
- Toasted sesame oil: Which we will use as a finishing oil to flavor the broth.
- Optional toppings: And finally, I recommend some thinly sliced green onions for garnish!
Full ingredient amounts and directions included in the recipe box below.
How To Make Cabbage Egg Drop Soup:
To make this Chinese cabbage egg drop soup recipe, simply…
- Sauté onion and garlic. Sauté in a drizzle of oil until softened.
- Add the cabbage and broth ingredients. Add in the broth, chopped cabbage, ground ginger, white pepper and continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.
- Simmer. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the cabbage has softened.
- Make the egg ribbons. Now the fun part! While the soup is still simmering, use one hand to continuously stir the soup round and round, creating a “whirlpool”-type motion, while you use your other hand to slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs. The eggs will cook instantly in the hot broth, creating pretty egg ribbons.
- Season. Stir in the sesame oil until completely combined, then taste and season as needed.
- Serve. Serve warm, sprinkled with green onions if desired.
Possible Variations:
Want to customize this soup a bit? Feel free to:
- Add bok choy: Our favorite restaurant also occasionally used to add in some chopped baby bok choy, which I love to do as well and highly recommend if you have some on hand.
- Add meat: This soup would also be delicious with some ground pork or chicken added in, if you would like to add some extra protein.
- Make it spicy: If you would like to give this soup more of a kick, you can definitely increase the amount of white pepper. Or feel free to also stir in some chili garlic sauce or sriracha to add some extra chili flavor.
More Cabbage Soup Recipes:
Looking for more delicious cabbage soup recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves:
Cabbage Egg Drop Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
- 1 small head of Napa cabbage, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- optional topping: thinly sliced green onions
Instructions
- Sauté onion and garlic. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
- Add the cabbage and broth ingredients. Add in the stock, chopped cabbage, ground ginger, white pepper and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer.
- Simmer. Reduce heat to medium, in order to maintain the simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until the cabbage has completely softened.
- Make the egg ribbons. Remove the lid. Then, while the soup is still simmering, use one hand to continuously stir the soup round and round, creating a "whirlpool"-type motion, while you use your other hand to slowly drizzle in the whisked eggs. The eggs will cook instantly in the hot broth, creating pretty egg ribbons.
- Season. Stir in the sesame oil until completely combined. Then give the soup a taste and season with salt, as needed, plus any extra sesame oil, white pepper or ginger that you think it might need.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with green onions if desired.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Excellent different Asian soup that I will keep in my recipe rotation. I followed the recipe more or lees as written here , the only deviation was using a handful of dry green onions. Possibly will add a light cornstarch surly to the next pot. All in all definitely a keeper!
This look delicious. Will it make a difference in taste, if I only use the egg white? I’d like to cut down on the fat intake😃
My husband and I really liked this soup. Thanks for upping the egg drop.
Since I am a diabetic, this is a good and satisfying meal with some cloud bread, and a nice change. Cabbage also takes fat off the belly, which I need as well. Thanks for the recipe.
We think your hot and sour soup is amazing!!! I go to your site first whenever I’m searching for recipes. We appreciate how often most ingredients are normally found in our pantry.
Wanted to share something I discovered for getting those little egg ribbons in oriental soups. I mix my eggs in a little paper cup then crimp a little spout at the rim. The egg streams from the cup at an easily controlled rate while stirring continually. The ribbons form beautifully and clean up is another great thing. Just toss the paper cup. We love your hot and sour soup recipe!
Nice basic egg drop n cabbage soup. Delicious. Comforting. Yummy on this cold Christmas Eve night. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. Planning to use 1tsp sesame oil (recipe was a bit too strong for me. Used blk pepper (don’t have white). Solid recipe not easily ruined by minor adjustments.
Tried the soup and loved it …I added chilli for more spice..
This recipe is fantastic! As my daughter said, “It warms your soul.” I used napa cabbage, and afterward for additional flavor to taste a tad of tamari. Thank you. We have made a lot of your recipes, but this one takes the cake!
I am a soup lover – making, gifting, eating: all of these. This is THE most delicious and simplest soup I have ever made. I want to go out my front door and yell, “who has anything that ails them?” and deliver this to them. There was a soup that I had at
a Chinese restaurant in my childhood. I think you found the recipe. The only change I made was to increase the white pepper slightly. Thank you so much!!!
I have done this soup many times and it’s DELICIOUS!