Spinach Tomato Egg Drop Soup

This fast and easy spinach tomato egg drop soup (苋菜番茄蛋花汤) was made with a dashi soup pack. I made this as I could not resist the supermarket bargain deal of 3 packets of local greens for S$1.80 – that’s only 60 cents for my pack of sharp spinach in this recipe! I loved that this soup was made with minimal ingredients, yet it had a lot of flavour and heaps of healthy green spinach. The tomato added a natural umami depth to this homely soup. This soup is very similar to my spinach egg drop soup recipe but it is slightly simpler (using a soup pack) with a lighter consistency (no cornstarch).

Similar Recipe:

• Spinach Egg Drop Soup

More Local Spinach Recipes:

• Spinach Pork Porridge
• Spinach Fish Ball Soup
• Chinese Red Spinach Soup

See Also:

• Easy Chinese Cooking
• More Chinese Soups Recipes

INGREDIENTS (Spinach Tomato Egg Drop Soup)

Pictured key ingredients:

• 1 packet local spinach (round/sharp) – For this recipe, I snipped the spinach leaves and discarded the stems. I washed & spun dry the spinach, and kept the salad spinner in the fridge. The prepared spinach will keep well (remain fresh and crisp) in the fridge for 2 days. This is a time-saver and enables me to cook immediately when I reach home.
• 1 large ripened tomato – cut the tomato to wedges, and each wedge to smaller pieces.
• 2 eggs – lightly whisked.
• 1 instant dashi soup pack – There are various brands in the market. This is my current favourite soup pack discovery, I tried this ‘no MSG’ version and I much prefer this to its more popular MSG version. You can find this soup pack from local supermarkets such as NTUC and Sheng Siong.

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

HOW TO COOK SPINACH TOMATO EGG DROP SOUP:

1. Bring water to a boil with the dashi soup pouch.
2. Add spinach. When the they start to wilt and reduce in volume, add cut tomatoes.
3. Cover with lid and bring to a simmer for 2 or more minutes, until the spinach is cooked to your preference.
4. Remove soup pouch.
5. Return the spinach tomato soup to a boil and turn off the heat. Immediately swirl in the egg all around the pot.
6. Wait a few seconds and at the first sight of the egg solidifying, use chopsticks to stir the soup gently to disperse the egg to get large egg ribbons.

Ladle this soup to a serving bowl, add a few drops of pure sesame oil and a dash of white pepper for powder better flavour. Enjoy!

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Spinach Tomato Egg Drop Soup Recipe

I am using a MSG-free dashi soup pouch pack in this recipe. In place of it, you can use any brand of dashi soup pack or an ikan bills (anchovies) soup pouch. You can also use bouillon tubes, rich soup stock (in tetra-pak) or water + simple seasonings (soy sauces, fish sauce etc).

Check out the ingredients and step-by-step photos on the previous page.

Serves: 2-3

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 8 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (200g) local spinach (sharp/round leaves) snip leaves (discarding the stems) and washed
• 1 large ripe tomato (150g onwards) cut to wedges, then cut each wedge to smaller pieces
• 700ml water
• 1 dashi soup pouch pack preferably MSG-free
• 2 eggs whisked
• sesame oil to serve; optional 
• white pepper powder to serve; optional

Directions:

1. Prepare spinach & tomatoes according to the ingredients instructions. See cooking note below on how you can prepare the spinach beforehand.
2. Make quick soup base. In a soup pot, add water and dashi soup pack. Bring to a boil.
3. Cook spinach & tomatoes. Add spinach and once they start to wilt and shrink down, add cut tomatoes. Cover the pot with lid and simmer for 2 or more minutes, depending on your preferred softness of the cooked spinach. Remove soup pack. Season to taste if needed.
4. Make egg drop. Bring the soup to a boil once again, turn off the heat and immediately swirl in the whisked egg all around the pot. Wait a few seconds and at the first sight of the egg solidifying, stir the soup gently to disperse the egg. This method will yield bigger egg flowers like the photos in this recipe. For finer egg flowers, stir continuously in one direction once the egg is added in.
5. To serve, ladle the soup to a serving bowl, add a few drops of sesame oil and a light dash of white pepper powder.

Noob Cook Tips

1. You can save time by prepping the spinach beforehand. Wash and spin dry the spinach in a salad spinner. Keep the salad spinner in the fridge – the washed spinach will keep well (remain fresh and crisp) for 2 days. This is a time-saver when I come home from work and I want to cook as soon as possible without spending time on preparation.
2. You can use local red (purple) spinach, but do note that the red pigment from the red spinach will make the soup red.
3. You can use more tomatoes if you prefer a richer tomato taste in the soup.

Ingredients Used: Chinese spinach • dashi soup pouch • egg • sesame oil • tomato • white pepper powder