We are talking about EGG drop soup, something clear, light and easy. It is perfectly OK to replace clams with tofu or more leaf vegetables as some people may not eat meat. When you change the soup base to Tom Yum, it is totally a different dish. What about curry or Chinese herbs?

For variety you can put some tom yam paste (or cubes) to make tom yam egg drop soup.

Actually you also can add cabbages or any other type of veg suitable for soups. Improvise and experiment.

Had same type of soup with chicken instead of clams in Hong Kong. This was a completely different experience. MSG is very hard to avoid completely, but the best broth is definitely homemade. Sometimes I have to cheat by using Knorr haha as my work schedule is tight. But whenever there is time and leftover chicken parts, I cook broth. I cook mine with rice wine, chicken meat and bones, spring onions, ginger and various greens.

Good to see that you also use white pepper powder. It adds a excellent little “kick” to sauces and soups. I found sugar and white pepper to nearly do the same trick as MSG.

But as you mentioned MSG; have you tried anything named Mushroom seasoning or anything like that? It’s supposedly a thing they sell instead of MSG now. I received this tip from a chinese guy.