Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup is in the hall of fame for all time great comfort meals. It’s one of my favorite things we ate in Taiwan because of it’s beefy richness and fragrant seasoning. It’s comforting and a little refreshing at the same time? It’s so easy that I think this belongs in your arsenal of go-to meals.
Prep Time | Cook Time | Serves |
20 minutes | 3.5 hours - 4.5 hours | 4 people |
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
2 lb shank (banana shank) or chuck
10 cloves garlic - crushed
Large knob Ginger - sliced
Medium yellow Onion - quartered
1 bunch of green onion whites - large cuts
2 whole tomatoes - quartered
25g doubanjiang
15g brown sugar
2 bay leaves
3g Fennel
3g cumin
3g Sichuan peppercorns
2 star anise
1/2 stick Cinnamon
2-4 Dried chilies
2g msg
100ml shaoxing wine
25ml dark soy sauce
50ml light soy sauce
2 liter water
1 packet of gelatin (optional)
Knife cut noodles - https://amzn.to/4ewDrMA
Step 1: Boil Beef
Cut your beef into slices that are going to be a little bigger than what you want in your final bowl. Add your sliced beef to a pot of boiling water and let this cook for like 3-5 minutes, basically until the meat is no longer pink. All of this first cook water is not worth having in the soup, so strain it off and wash the beef in cold water.
Step 2: Cook Aromatics and Simmer Soup
To a spice bag, add in 2 bay leaves, 3g of fennel seed, 3g of cumin seed, 3g of sichuan peppercorn, 2 star anise, 1/2 a cinnamon stick, and a couple of dried chiles. If you have some whole clove, go ahead and throw a couple of those in as well.
Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium high and then add enough oil to coat the bottom. Add in the garlic, ginger, green onion, and yellow onion. Cook these until browned in the hot oil. Turn the heat down to medium low and add the brown sugar. Let that melt and caramelize slightly. Before it burns, add the beef and mix to coat everything in the sugar. If it's sticking in clumps, don't worry, it will dissolve in the water later. Add the doubanjiang and shaoxing wine. Use the wine to scrape up any brown bits. Add the soy sauces, the spice bag, and the 2 liters of water. Mix your gelatin with a little cold water and let it set before adding it to the soup. Season this now with salt and msg. Bring this to a simmer and begin skimming any scum off the top. Turn this to low, cover the pot and set a 3 hour timer. Stir this every 30 minutes or so to make sure nothing is sticking or burning on the bottom.
Once you hit the 3 hour mark, begin checking the beef for tenderness. If you used chuck, it should be close (probably 30 minutes). If you used shank, it will need more time (at least an hour). If the meat is tender, remove the pieces from the soup and then strain the solids from the soup (including the spice bag). Get the strained broth back into a clean pot on the stove and now is when we have the opportunity to taste it for final seasoning. Adjust salt levels as needed. Go through the cooled beef and remove any huge chunks of fat if necessary so you can easily eat the beef with chopsticks later. You can either add the beef back into the pot to stay warm, or you can keep it off to the side to make sure each bowl has the same amount of beef.
Step 3: Boil Noodles and Serve
Get a pot of salted water up to the boil for your noodles, and then drop those in to cook. The package will give you time counts for how long to cook them for. Drain them and then grabs your bowls. Add your noodles, top with the broth, hunks of tender beef. Top it with green onions, chopped cilantro, suan cai (pickled mustard greens) and I like just a little chili oil on mine for added heat. At the end of the day, this is exactly how I like to cook and eat. Lots of unattended cooking that leads to depth and warmth. It’s good for the soul, and damn tasty. The soup somehow manages to taste light and refreshing while also being super rich and beefy. Not an easy feat if you ask me.
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