West Lake Beef Soup is a classic Chinese soup with beef, cilantro, mushrooms, and wispy egg whites in a thick broth. My version happens to be paleo, gluten-free, and Whole30-friendly, too!

An overhead shot of West Lake Beef Soup in a blue bowl next to a pair of chopsticks and a white ceramic soup spoon

What is West Lake Soup?

West Lake Soup is a traditional Chinese soup with minced beef, soft tofu, mushrooms, and eggs in a thick and clear broth. It’s named after the scenic West Lake in Hangzhou, China, and it’s a soothing and nourishing dish. The soup is thickened with starch, which gives it a silky texture and helps keep the ingredients suspended in the broth.

I’m sharing my paleo and Whole30 spin on this tasty soup from our first cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans, because it’s one of my childhood favorites. With bright green flecks of cilantro and cloudlike wisps of egg, this soup is both gorgeous and satisfying. And don’t leave out the cilantro—it adds a fresh and bright touch to the soup.

A collage of the cooking steps to make West Lake Beef Soup.

Mindy Kaling approved soup!

But don’t just take my word for it—Mindy Kaling, one of the coolest and funniest people on TV and the big screen, recently showed folks how to make my West Lake Beef Soup on her Instagram Stories and she told everyone how she loved both of my cookbooks. Is this real life? (She was nice enough to write a blurb for the back cover of our latest cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go!, too!)

Mindy did have a few questions about my recipe in her IG Stories, so I’ve answered them and a few others below:

Frequently asked questions

This West Lake Soup recipe calls for minced beef. What is that? Can I use ground beef instead?

Traditionally, this recipe is made with flank steak that is hand-chopped with a giant Chinese cleaver until it’s finely cut up. To make it easier to chop, I normally freeze the steak for about 30 minutes and then hack it up with my chef’s knife. If you don’t want to chop it by hand, you can use a food processor or buy lean ground beef.

Can I use another ground meat in place of beef?

Yes, you can substitute minced chicken thighs, pork, or dark meat turkey in place of the beef. It won’t taste the same, but the soup will still be delicious.

What do I do with the leftover egg yolks?

West Lake Beef Soup is a fancier version of Simple Egg Drop Soup, but it’s made with only whisked egg whites. I often use the leftover yolks to make one of my favorite desserts, Mexican Chocolate Pots de Creme. If you’d rather use the yolks, too, no problem: just add whisked whole eggs to the soup.A hand is holding a raw egg yolk after separating it from the whites.

I hate cilantro. Can I leave it out?

West Lake Beef Soup is a cilantro-forward soup, but you can definitely leave it out if you are genetically predisposed to hate cilantro!

Ingredients

  • Flank steak, finely minced: Yes, please take the time to chop up your own flank steak. You can use ground beef in a pinch but it’s not quite the same.
  • Instant Pot bone broth or chicken broth
  • Fresh shiitake mushrooms: If you can’t find shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced button mushrooms also work.
  • Arrowroot powder: To keep this recipe grain-free and paleo, I use an arrowroot powder slurry as a thickener in place of cornstarch.
  • Egg whites
  • Minced fresh cilantro: Please don’t leave out the cilantro! It really is the main flavor component of the soup (besides the minced beef and ground white pepper).
  • Green onions
  • Rice vinegar
  • Red Boat fish sauce
  • Toasted sesame oil
  • Ground white pepper: If you can’t find it at your neighborhood grocery store, head to your local Asian market to find it!
  • Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt

How to make West Lake Soup

Combine the beef, salt, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper in a bowl. Mix well.

A white bowl filled with minced raw beef with seasonings

Bring the broth and mushrooms to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer.

A person is adding a platter of sliced shiitake mushrooms to a saucepan filled with broth.

In a small bowl, whisk ¼ cup arrowroot powder with ¼ cup water to make a slurry.

A blue bowl is filled with an arrowroot slurry

Stir the arrowroot slurry into the simmering broth to thicken it.

Pouring arrowroot slurry into a saucepan filed with simmering broth and sliced shiitake mushrooms

Once the soup thickens, add the marinated meat and stir well. As soon as the meat is cooked through, turn off the heat. Taste the soup and season with salt and white pepper if needed.

Adding the seasoned minced flank steak to the simmering broth.

In a slow, steady stream, pour in the beaten eggs whites from high above the pot, stirring as the whites hit the liquid.

Pouring whisked egg whites into a hot pot of soup.

The whites will cook upon contact with the hot soup, forming ribbon-like tendrils.

A closeup of West Lake Beef Soup in a saucepan

Mix in the cilantro and scallions…

Adding minced cilantro and sliced scallions to West Lake Soup off the heat.

…and stir well.

A side view of West Lake Beef Soup in a saucepan that is ready to be ladled into bowls.

Ladle the West Lake Beef Soup into bowls and serve immediately.

A shot of a bowl of West Lake beef Stew next to a cup of tea, chopsticks, cloth napkin, and white ceramic spoon

How do I store leftovers?

Leftover soup can be kept in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, but it does taste best when it’s freshly made. Sometimes, the soup thins out upon reheating, but it doesn’t bother me. If you want to re-thicken the soup, you can add more arrowroot slurry when you heat it up.


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).


 PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

West Lake Beef Soup

5 from 17 votes
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Servings 4 people
This West Lake Beef Soup is a simple and delicious Whole30-friendly Chinese soup that’s packed with protein. It’s an easy 30-minute weeknight paleo meal!

Ingredients 
 

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Instructions 

  • Combine the beef, salt, vinegar, fish sauce, sesame oil, and ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper in a bowl. Mix well.
  • Bring the broth and mushrooms to a boil over high heat in a large saucepan. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer.
  • In a small bowl, whisk ¼ cup arrowroot powder with ¼ cup water to make a slurry.
  • Stir the arrowroot slurry into the simmering broth to thicken it.
  • Once the soup thickens, add the marinated meat and stir well. As soon as the meat is cooked through, turn off the heat. Taste the soup and season with salt and white pepper if needed.
  • In a slow, steady stream, pour in the beaten eggs whites from high above the pot, stirring as the whites hit the liquid. The whites will cook upon contact with the hot soup, forming ribbon-like tendrils.
  • Mix in the cilantro and scallions and stir well. Ladle the West Lake Beef Soup into bowls and serve immediately.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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14 Comments

  1. I’m a white guy married to a Cantonese lady. I am trying to make her something a bit traditional. I have an instant pot. Can I make this in the instant pot or should I stick to stove top? I need to check if I have a large enough sauce pan.

  2. Hey thanks for this! I bought Food for Humans a few years back but dunno how I managed to miss this recipe. I’m a big fan of thick Chinese soups (羹) and it never occurred to me to try them at home. This is gonna be on regular rotation for me!

  3. So, ten minutes for prep time? That must be AFTER you’ve made the bone broth, chopped the meat, sliced the mushrooms, and sliced the scallions. Maybe if you use store bought broth and ground beef. Bone broth in the Instapot and chopped meat in the frig. Looking forward to West Lake Beef Soup tomorrow ;-D

  4. 5 stars
    🤎🤎🤎This is my favorite soup. I have used fresh mushrooms and dried after soaking and both taste great. I also have the butcher at Whole Foods cut up the flank steak as small as he/she can and it amazes me how quickly it cooks. This soup is so hearty and comforting. Have made it about 5x and can’t wait to make it again. Thank you! 🤎🤎🤎

  5. What did I do wrong? The ground beef was hard- the shitakes could have used more time and I tried to salvage it but had to throw the whole thing away. The soup was delicious!

  6. 5 stars
    I loved the soup! Used dried mushrooms and a little of their liquid instead of broth. Also used xanthan gum as thickener because I’m keto and just a little did the trick. So delicious! Thx Michelle!!

    1. 5 stars
      I’ve made this soup many times. This last time I made it I used some substitutions. Because shiitake shrooms are very expensive currently, I used portobello shrooms,
      we stopped eating beef and instead used deer steak, and xanthan gum instead of arrowroot, because I couldn’t find my arrowroot. Despite using these subs, this soup was still a big hit.

  7. 5 stars
    Love this soup! Have eaten it 4 days straight and could go right on eating it. Used ground beef since that’s what I had, but will get flank steak for next time. So, so satisfying as the weather’s gotten colder.

  8. 5 stars
    This soup is so delicious! My partner and I totally over ate. He threw a serving of the spaghetti squash I made from your instant pot recipe (which is brilliant) into it when I wasn’t looking —at first I was upset but it was actually pretty good too. Thank you for so many fabulous healthy recipes ❤️

  9. Seems like a good recipe. Video though is waaaay too long. Asking to leave out cilantro is like asking to leave out cheese from lasagna. Better to leave out the question. And it’s unfortunate the video used whole eggs and not egg whites as is the classic and proper way to make it. She talks about the beauty and fond memories of the soup which would have been made with egg whites only. So the egg tendrils she talked about never materialized using whole eggs.