Friday, November 02, 2007

Minced Beef and Cilantro Soup

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
5–6 oz. ground beef or ground veal
½ bunch of fresh cilantro, minced
2 ½ cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 t white pepper
2 t sesame oil
1 T fish sauce
2 T cornstarch
1 T Canola or other vegetable oil
salt


In a mixing bowl, add sesame oil, white pepper and fish sauce to the beef. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

In a saucepan, warm Canola oil over medium high heat and then add beef, breaking up into bits. Cook until the meat is brown everywhere (about 3 to 5 minutes) and then add broth and water. (You may also want to drain some excess fat oil that came from the meat before adding the broth.) Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and toss in minced cilantro. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

TIP: It’s important to add the cilantro at the very last minute. If you add it any time earlier during the cooking process, the cilantro will get super soft and lose its bright green color, turning into a murky green. Believe me, that’s not appetizing.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi SG - is this aka Westlake Beef soup? Been looking for a recipe for that...

Single Guy Ben said...

Hi Sarah, I've never heard it referred to as Westlake Beef soup. What's in that soup? I just know it by the Chinese name, which is simply "gno yuk gun" (Cantonese) and just means beef soup.

Unknown said...

The Westlake Beef soup may have diced tofu and is thickened w/beaten egg whites?

Single Guy Ben said...

Hmmm, I don't think we're talking about the same soup. The beef soup my mom always ordered at Chinese restaurants were always very simple: ground beef, minced cilantro and maybe the egg drop. I've never heard of the Westlake. But then again, I know most of the soups at restaurants by the Chinese name. Next time my mom is in town, I'm going to go to a Chinese restaurant with her and see if they have Westlake beef soup on the menu!

Anonymous said...

Chef Ben:

THe soup is called "Sai Woo Gnow Yuk Tong" in Cantonese. It should be on the menu as Westlake Beef Soup in the restaurants.

Anonymous said...

When I cook this, I usually just put the chopped cilantro leaves and very fine scallions onto the bowls; then pour the soup on top. This way, the cilantro and scallion do not cook along with the soup. :) perfect for chicago weather.

Single Guy Ben said...

That's a nice tip Little Bolshevik. Yes, I think it's a good idea to add the cilantro at the end so it doesn't overcook. So putting it on the bottom of the bowl is a good idea.

Thanks anonymous for the reminder about the name of the soup. When you printed the name and I said it in my head, I realize the translation of the Chinese name is Westlake like Sarah was asking from the beginning. But I never had Westlake soup with the diced tofu. It was usually simple with just the beef and cilantro and maybe the dropped egg flower. I guess Sarah must have had a fancier version. ;-)

Claudia moreno said...

In that moment add the cornstarch ?