West Lake Beef Soup (西湖牛肉羹)

February 29, 2020Mrs. Lin's Kitchen

Hello everybody. Welcome back to my recipe blog.

Today I will share with you my recipe for West Lake Beef Soup or Shi-Hu-Neou-Rou-Gun in Mandarin Chinese.

West Lake Beef Soup is originated in the Zhejing region where the famous West Lake is located. Thus the name. This soup is commonly served as an appetizer.

Since it’s very easy to make, for those with a busy schedule, you can even eat it with a bowl of rice and that would be a meal by itself.

All the ingredients can be easily found so you can whip it up in no time.

Ingredients:

Store bought chicken broth is used in this recipe but you can use homemade beef broth or vegetable broth. To make a successful West Lake beef soup, beef and shitake mushrooms should all be chopped into fine pieces. The minced beef also needs to be separated into small pieces when cooked.

If you like a thicker soup, use more corn starch to thicken the soup. Cilantro makes the soup even more flavorful but you can leave it out if you don’t care for it. I hope you like this recipe. If you try making it, please let me know how it turns out.

  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup of ground beef
  • 1/4 of 14 oz. soft tofu
  • 1 egg
  • 5 to 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 cup of water
  • Cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp of grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp of oil
  • 1 tbsp of corn starch
  • A pinch of salt

West Lake Beef Soup Recipe

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West Lake Beef Soup

West Lake Beef Soup is originated in the Zhejing region where the famous West Lake is located. Thus the name. This soup is commonly served as an appetizer.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup ground beef
  • 1/4 of 14 oz soft tofu
  • 1 egg
  • 5 to 6 dried shiitake mushroom
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp grated ginger
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • a pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare Ingredients

  • 1)

    Soak the shiitake mushroom in one cup of water for at least 30 minutes

  • 2)

    Squeeze out the water and reserve it for later. Dice the shiitake mushroom.

  • 3)

    Cut the tofu into smaller cubes

  • 4)

    Grate the ginger

  • 5)

    Chop the cilantro

  • 6)

    Separate the egg yolk from the egg white

  • 7)

    Pound the ground beef

Season the Ground Beef

  • 1)

    Transfer it into a large bowl then add grated ginger, 1/4 tsp of corn starch, egg yolk and a pinch of salt to taste. Mix well. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Cook the Soup

  • 1)

    In a pot, add 1 tbsp spoon of oil and sauté the shiitake mushroom until it becomes fragrant.

  • 2)

    Add the ground beef and continue to sauté until the meat is fully cooked. Make sure to break up the beef into fine pieces

  • 3)

    Add the water we saved from soaking the shiitake mushroom and chicken broth.

  • 4)

    Add the tofu and bring the soup to a boil

  • 5)

    When the soup starts to boil, mix the remaining corn starch with an equal amount of water then add into the soup. Stir well and wait until the soup thickens.

  • 6)

    Beat the egg white and add it into the soup. Stir the soup well to make the egg white swirl.

Serve the Soup

  • 1)

    Add cilantro to a soup bowl then pour the west lake beef soup over.

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