Hi everyone! This is a recipe for a Chinese "West Lake" Soup, which is pretty similar to the more simple "Egg Drop" soup but with a few extra ingredients added. This particular version adds to our Bay Area restaurant hack series, as it is my best attempt at reproducing a West Lake Soup that I used to eat a lot as a kid at a restaurant in the SF Richmond district called Dragon House. I had a lot of fun tweaking this recipe, and making good use of the homemade stock that I've had in my freezer for months. Hope you try it!
serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger (about 1 inch)
8 oz ground beef
4 shiitake mushrooms
1 lb soft tofu
4 egg whites
1 cup cilantro
4 cups homemade stock + 2 cups water (or 6 cups stock from bouillon)
corn starch
INGREDIENTS (marinade)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp white pepper
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
kosher salt
PREP
CRUSH and mince garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE ginger, set aside
REHYDRATE shiitake mushrooms for 15 minutes, then remove the stems and mince, set aside
LARGE DICE tofu, set aside
SEPARATE and mince cilantro, set aside
SEPARATE egg whites and whisk, set aside
COMBINE all marinade ingredients with ground beef, and set aside for 15 minutes or up to 1 hour
COMBINE 2 tbsp corn starch with equal parts water into a slurry until dissolved, set aside
ON THE STOVE
ADD stock plus water to a large stock pot (omit water if using stock from bouillon) and bring to a boil
STIR IN ground beef gradually, breaking up large pieces
SIMMER until boiling again, then add garlic, ginger, mushrooms, and tofu
SIMMER for 20 minutes, then add corn starch slurry and cilantro
POUR in the egg whites gradually while constantly stirring the soup to create wisps of egg whites
SEASON to taste with kosher salt and white pepper