This may be called egg drop soup, but the literal Chinese translation is egg flower soup. The name comes from the way the egg swirls around the bowl, looking like little flower petals, when poured into the hot broth or water. Doesn’t that sound so pretty? And what better dish to open the first recipe chapter than this simple and delicious soup, which forms the foundation of many Chinese soups, including variations with seaweed, corn, or tomato? You can customize the soup freely to make it your own, but since the basic version is one of my personal faves, let’s start here. - Verna Gao, "Have You Eaten?"