West Lake Soup

Ingredients

• 8 ounces ground pork or minced beef fillet, or white fish fillets, such as cod or flounder, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
• 6 cups homemade or store-bought low sodium chicken broth
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Place the meat in a medium-sized mixing bowl, then add the rice wine, soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon salt. Give it a quick mix and let it sit while you get the broth going.
2. Pour the broth into a medium saucepan and stir in the slurry. Set it over medium-high heat, stirring here and there, until it comes to a boil and thickens a bit. Lower the heat until the soup is barely simmering.
3. Add the marinated meat, stirring as it goes in so it breaks apart; if you are using fish, keep your hand especially light. Once the protein is barely cooked through, about 30 seconds if you used meat and 2 minutes if you used fish, stream in the egg whites while slowly moving chopsticks through the simmering broth.
4. When the egg whites have set, about 30 seconds longer, take the pan off the heat. Stir in the white pepper, then add more salt to taste. Add the chopped cilantro and stir it through. Serve right away.