Photograph of the finished West Lake beef soup

China · Canh bò vân trứng Tây Hồ

West Lake beef soup

30 min Hands-on time
MediumDifficulty
5 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Beef Beef 14.1 oz
  • Photograph of Chicken eggs Chicken eggs 8
  • Photograph of Soft tofu Soft tofu 11.3 oz
  • Photograph of Chicken broth Chicken broth 8 ½ cups
  • Photograph of Cornstarch Cornstarch 2.1 oz
  • Photograph of Ginger Ginger 1.1 oz
  • Photograph of Coriander Coriander 0.7 oz
  • Photograph of Sesame oil Sesame oil 1 ⅔ tbsp
  • Photograph of Shaoxing Wine Shaoxing Wine 3 ¼ tbsp
  • Photograph of Steamed rice Steamed rice 1.8 lb

Method

  1. 1 Finely chop the beef, blanch it in boiling water for 30 seconds, then rinse with cold water to keep the soup clear.
  2. 2 Bring chicken broth to a boil with ginger, then add diced soft tofu and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. 3 Mix cornstarch with water and pour it into the soup, stirring until it thickens slightly. The soup must be thickened before adding the eggs; otherwise, the egg whites will sink to the bottom.
  4. 4 Pour the egg whites separately in a thin stream over the tip of a chopstick and do not stir for the first 20 seconds — this creates cloud-like white streaks on the clear soup.
  5. 5 Add the beef, turn off the heat, then drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with cilantro.

With an appliance

  • Microwave 28 min

    Replace step 1: put the ground beef in a bowl of water, heat at 600 W for 45 seconds, then rinse with cold water to remove the foam; keep steps 3 and 4 on the stove until thickened enough before adding the egg whites.

Start cooking