• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

China Sichuan Food

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Index
  • Sichuan
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Index
    • Sichuan
    • Subscribe
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » beef and lamb

    West Lake Beef Soup

    Last Modified: October 13, 2022 by Elaine| 9 Comments

    374 shares
    • Share on Facebook
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    West lake beef soup is a humble starter soup popular among Chinese folks as it calls quite common ingredients: tofu, beef, shiitake mushroom, starch and coriander.

    west lake beef soup

    This soup is so yummy but so mischievous. It is quite hard to photo. The pictures make it seem quite normal but in fact it is super delicious.

    west lake beef soup

    Honestly, I am quite confused by the name too. There is one saying about the appearance (the thick egg white soup looks just like the lake). When taking the pictures, I find the reflection makes the soup much similar to the lake surface. Traditionally, the soup use egg white and then we only get white egg drops. But it is ok if you want to use whisked whole egg. Following is my customized version using whisked egg liquid and chopped Bok Choy.

    west lake beef soup

    To make a successful west lake beef soup, one of the most important step is to separate the minced beef. So minced beef should be cooked in boiling water for 1 minute to remove the odd taste after marinating. After that, break the minced beef into small particles with a scoop.

    West Lake Beef Soup

    Elaine
    One of the most popular Chinese humble soup--west lake beef soup
    No ratings yet
    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 5 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Soup
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 3
    Calories 309 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Beef treatment

    • 1 cup minced beef
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 tablespoon cooking wine

    Other ingredients

    • 1 egg white , well whisked
    • 1 thumb ginger , minced
    • 2 shitake mushrooms , chopped
    • 5 cups beef broth , unsalted
    • 5 tablespoons cornstarch+ 5 tablespoons water
    • ⅓ box tender tofu , around 100g
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • pinch of salt
    • 1 small bunch of coriander , minced for garnishing

    Instructions

    • Marinate minced beef with salt and cooking wine. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.
    • Bring water to boil in a pot and cook the minced beef for 2-3 minutes over high fire (this helps to remove any odd taste of the beef), transfer beef out and separated them by pressing with a scoop.
    • In a small bowl, mix 5 tablespoons of cornstarch and 5 tablespoons of water to make water starch. Do not add cornstarch directly in the soup, otherwise you will end up with transparent cornstarch chunks instead of thick soup
    • Load another large pot with beef broth; add beef, shiitake mushrooms, tofu and minced ginger. Bring to boil and simmer for around 10 minutes.
    • Pour water starch in and cook for another 1 minute. Turn up the fire and drop the egg white slowly using one hand and in the mean time, stir the soup quickly with the other hand.
    • Add ground pepper and serve with chopped coriander. Add chopped coriander and mix well before enjoying.

    Notes

    I do not recommend adding the coriander directly in the large bowl. If the soup is not finished within 10 minutes, you will find the coriander leaves turns dark green and lose the aroma.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 309kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 21gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 3879mgPotassium: 456mgVitamin A: 225IUVitamin C: 0.9mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 2.6mg
    Keyword Beef
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood

     

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • Beef Ho Fun Noodle Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Li

      August 09, 2016 at 5:35 am

      Hi Elaine,

      Thank you for posting this great recipe! When would I add the bok Choy and how should I slice it?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        August 09, 2016 at 3:02 pm

        Sure li, you need to cut them into small pieces.

        Reply
    2. Mary

      August 28, 2016 at 2:19 pm

      Hello Elaine?
      I first had West Lake a Beef Soup at a small restaurant in Philaelphia.
      It was a place that made delishous dumplings and Shanghai won ton soup.
      Anyway the West Lake was served with vinegar.
      Do you use vinegar and or have you eaten it in a restaurant?
      Thank you
      Bless us all?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        August 29, 2016 at 8:35 am

        Hello Mary,
        We seldom add vinegar in west lake beef soup in China. But adding some vinegar seems reasonable, learning from the famous hot and sour soup.

        Reply
    3. j

      April 16, 2017 at 11:38 am

      i absolutely loved this soup! I followed your recipe exactly. I simply added sichuan peppercorn for a little zing some chopped green onion and baby bok choy. Flat out delicious! I looked at many recipes for this soup and I most enjoy this version.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        April 16, 2017 at 11:45 am

        Thanks for your lovely feedback! It is not a famous soup outside China. But it is really delicious and I am so happy to have readers like you who can find the treasure of real Chinese cooking.

        Reply
    4. Lee Thayer

      September 11, 2017 at 7:12 am

      Very interesting name for the soup, I am intrigued by this. I will be making this soup soon, well written recipe and instructions.

      Reply
    5. Paul Kervin

      February 05, 2019 at 2:28 am

      You wrote that you didn't where the name came from.
      My wife and I just got back from China where we visited the West Lake in Hangzhou. She says this is the source of the soup name. Wikipedia wrote ' UNESCO describes it as "has influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" '

      This West Lake is 2.5 Sq mi. One of our guides told us there are 38 West Lakes in China!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        February 07, 2019 at 7:46 pm

        Thanks so much for the information. I never know that we have 38 west lakes in China. The one located in Huangzhou is the most well known one in China.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi Welcome

    Hi welcome to my little corner where I sharing authentic and easy to follow Chinese recipes. Don't be limited by the site name. Know me more from About Page.

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Popular

    • Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
    • Mapo Tofu Recipe
    • How to Make Boba Pearls at Home -Tapioca Pearls
    • Twice Cooked Pork--Szechuan Pork Stir Fry
    • Red Braised Pork Belly —(HongShaoRou)
    • Pork and Mushroom Stir Fry

    Find Recipes

    Email List

    Subscribe Our Email list to get updates and recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Privacy Policy. Disclaimer. About. Hot Pot cookbook

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 ChinaSichuanFood.com | All Rights Reserved