West Lake Beef Soup
This hearty West Lake Beef Soup recipe is easy to prepare with pantry ingredients. Dinner and comfort are ready in under 20 minutes. It's simply delicious and tastes much better than restaurant takeouts.
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
- 6 oz ground beef
- 1/2 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 14 oz store-bought chicken broth
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 3 dashes white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves (cilantro) coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Marinate the ground beef with Chinese rice wine (or sherry) and sesame oil for 10 minutes. While marinating, break up the ground beef into small pieces using a fork (or chopsticks) and stir well.
- Mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, stir well, and set aside.
- Bring the chicken broth and 1 1/3 cups of water to a boil in a soup pot. Lower the heat to medium, then add the ground beef to the soup. Skim off any foam from the surface.
- Add white pepper and salt, then thicken the soup with the cornstarch mixture. Stir the soup with a ladle until smooth, then turn off the heat.
- Swirl the beaten eggs into the soup and immediately stir three times with chopsticks. Cover the pot with the lid for 2 minutes to allow the eggs to cook from the residual heat. Add the coriander leaves to the soup and stir to blend well. Dish out and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Tips:
- Thicken the soup with a mixture of cornstarch and water to create a silky and smooth texture. However, do not add too much cornstarch.
- Break the marinated ground beef into small pieces and cook it in the boiling chicken broth. Skim off the foam on the surface to remove the odd taste from the beef.
- Turn off the heat and cook the beaten egg with the remaining heat in the pot with the lid covered. Stir the beaten egg with chopsticks to form the silken threads.
- Add more chopped coriander leaves on top of the soup before serving which helps to add more fragrance.
Nutrition
Calories: 174kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 724mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 256IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg