← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 225 g lean beef mince
• ¼ tsp salt, for the beef
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp cornflour, for the beef
• 1.5 l chicken stock
• 2 slices Ginger
• 150 g soft tofu, cut into 1 cm dice
• 100 g button or chestnut mushrooms, diced
• 4 tbsp cornflour mixed with 6 tbsp cold water
• 3 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• ¼ tsp White pepper
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1 Spring onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp Toasted sesame oil

Method

1. Mix the beef with the salt, wine and 2 tsp cornflour. Pour over 4 tbsp boiling water and stir with chopsticks to break the mince into tiny crumbs, then drain in a sieve. This keeps the soup clear.
2. Bring the stock and ginger to the boil in a large pan. Add the tofu and mushrooms and simmer for 3 min.
3. Stir in the beef and simmer for 2 min, until it is no longer pink. Skim off any foam and fish out the ginger.
4. Stir the cornflour slurry, then pour it in a little at a time, stirring, until the soup is lightly thickened and glossy, about 1 minute.
5. Turn off the heat. Slowly drizzle in the egg whites in a thin stream while stirring gently in one direction, so they set into soft, white ribbons.
6. Season with the salt and white pepper, then stir in the coriander, spring onion and sesame oil. Serve hot.

Tips

• Turning off the heat before adding the egg whites gives fine, silky strands instead of rubbery lumps.
• For a gluten-free soup, use dry sherry or skip the wine and check your stock.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Made With Lau