PeruvianSopa criolla
Creamy beef noodle soup
Sopa criolla: Lima's creamy beef and angel-hair noodle soup with a fried egg and a splash of milk
Sopa criolla is the soup Lima turns to on grey winter evenings, when the garúa mist hangs over the city: a beef broth reddened with ají panca, full of thin noodles and strips of beef, enriched with evaporated milk and finished with a poached egg. It arrives with toasted bread for dunking. The common mistake is boiling the soup after adding the milk; it splits into specks. Lower the heat first and stir it in gently. The beef strips are thin, so they cook through in a few minutes. Chef's tip: crack the eggs straight into the barely simmering soup and leave them alone for three minutes; the whites set into soft ribbons that thicken the broth.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 420 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 10 ½ oz beef sirloincut into thin strips
- 1 red onionfinely chopped
- 3 garliccloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp ají panca paste
- 2 tomatoesgrated
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 cups beef stock
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 crusty breadslices, toasted
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan over a high heat. Sear 10 ½ oz beef sirloin for 2 minutes until browned, then lift out onto a plate.
2 minStep 2: Lower the heat to medium. Fry 1 red onion for 5 minutes until soft, then add 3 garlic and 1 tbsp ají panca paste and fry for 1 minute.
6 minStep 3: Add 2 tomatoes and 1 tsp dried oregano and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato thickens to a paste.
5 minStep 4: Pour in 5 cups beef stock, add ½ tsp salt and bring to the boil. Snap in 4 oz angel-hair noodles (cabello de ángel) or thin vermicelli and simmer for 4 minutes until just tender.
6 minStep 5: Return the beef, lower the heat until the soup barely trembles and stir in ¾ cup evaporated milk. Do not let it boil again.
Step 6: Crack in 4 eggs one at a time, spacing them out. Cover and leave for 3–4 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still soft; for pregnant women, young children or older people cook until the yolks are firm.
4 minStep 7: Ladle into bowls with one egg each and serve with 4 crusty bread.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa criolla take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of red onion?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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