Name: Beef Xiao Chao Pao-Mo Soup (牛肉泡馍小炒)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 16 wood ear mushrooms, hydrated in warm water for 30 minutes and coarsely chopped; 4 ounces (110 g) thin dry mung bean noodles, hydrated in warm water for 10 minutes; 2 tablespoons black vinegar; 3-inch (7.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced; 1 cup (240 ml) cold water; ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast; 2 green onions, trimmed and chopped; 1 tablespoon fennel seeds; 1 pound (455 g) beef loin or strip; 6 cups (1.4 L) unsalted beef broth or Bone Broth, divided; ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil; 2 stalks green garlic, diagonally sliced; ⅓ cup (about 70 g) dried lily flowers (found in the dried ingredients section of Chinese supermarkets), hydrated in warm water for 30 minutes and drained; 2 tablespoons Red Chili Powder; 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped; 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour; 8-ounce package (225 g) dougan (dried tofu) cut into ½-inch by 2-inch (12 mm by 5 cm) strips; 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns; 4 baby bok choy, roughly sliced; ½ large tomato, roughly chopped; 2 large eggs, beaten; Salt

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Xi'an Famous Foods

By Jason Wang

Published 2020

About

In my earliest years in Xi’an, back when I wasn’t big on food and all that, my grandfather would make me lamb pao-mo soup every day for lunch. I hated it. I would sit there not eating until the soup congealed and the bread got mushy, and pray that I could sneak away unnoticed for an extra fifteen minutes of playtime.

Once I moved to the States, though, the soup became a signifier of home—it was my version of chicken noodle soup. Today in Xi’an