Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

Beef and braise

• 1 kgbeef shank, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 300 gbeef tendon, optional but traditional
• 3 tbspvegetable oil or beef fat
• 2 tbspPixian doubanjiang, fermented broad bean chilli paste
• 1 tbspTaiwanese fermented soy bean paste (doubanjiang or dou ban)
• 6garlic cloves, smashed
• 5cm ginger, sliced
• 4spring onions, cut in lengths
• 2tomatoes, quartered
• 40 grock sugar
• 120 mllight soy sauce
• 60 mldark soy sauce
• 100 mlTaiwanese rice wine or Shaoxing wine
• 2 litreswater or unsalted beef stock

Spice bag

• 2star anise
• 1 piececassia bark, 5 cm
• 1 tspSichuan peppercorns
• 1 tspfennel seeds
• 3bay leaves
• 2dried red chillies
• 2 slicesdried liquorice root, optional
• a muslin bag or a tea filter

To serve

• 600 gfresh thick wheat noodles, or 400 g dried
• 150 gsuan cai, Taiwanese pickled mustard greens, rinsed and chopped
• 2 headsbaby bok choy, halved
• 2spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbspchilli oil, optional

Directions

1. Cover the beef and tendon with cold water, bring to the boil and blanch 5 minutes, skimming hard, then drain and rinse each piece under the tap. This is what keeps the finished broth clear.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the two bean pastes for 2 minutes until the oil turns red and smells toasty. Do not let them scorch or the soup turns bitter.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onion and fry 2 minutes, then the tomatoes and rock sugar and cook until the tomatoes break down, 5 minutes.
4. Deglaze with the rice wine, scraping the base, then add both soy sauces and let them bubble for a minute.
5. Return the beef, add the water and the spice bag, and bring to a bare simmer.
6. Cook uncovered at the barest tremble for 2.5 to 3 hours, until the shank is fork-tender and the tendon has gone translucent and gelatinous. Skim occasionally; never let it boil, which emulsifies fat into the broth and clouds it.
7. Fish out the spice bag after 90 minutes so the spices do not turn medicinal, and taste for salt and sugar; the broth should be deeply savoury with a slow-building numbing heat.
8. Blanch the bok choy for 1 minute and cook the noodles separately in plenty of unsalted water until just chewy, then drain well. Never cook noodles in the broth.
9. Divide the noodles between four deep bowls, ladle over the hot broth and several pieces of beef and tendon, and lay the bok choy alongside.
10. Top with suan cai, spring onion and a spoonful of chilli oil, and serve immediately while the noodles still have bite.

Technique

• This is hongshao, red-braised, beef noodle soup, and it is a mainland-in-Taiwan dish: it was created by Sichuanese soldiers in the military dependants’ villages around Kaohsiung after 1949, using local soy and bean paste in place of what they could not get.
• Tendon is not optional for Taiwanese diners. It contributes the body and the slippery texture that separates a good bowl from a thin one.
• Suan cai is the balance. The pickled mustard greens cut the fat and the sweetness, and a bowl served without them tastes cloying.

Substitutions

• No doubanjiang: 2 tbsp gochujang plus 1 tsp miso is a rough stand-in, though it is sweeter and less funky.
• For qingdun, the clear-braised style, leave out both bean pastes, the dark soy and the sugar and season with salt and rice wine alone.
• No fresh noodles: thick dried wheat noodles or even udon carry the broth acceptably.

Variations

• Hongshao niurou mian, the red-braised standard described here.
• Qingdun niurou mian, the clear broth version, prized in northern Taiwan.
• Half-tendon, half-shank bowls, which is what regulars actually order.

History

Created by Sichuanese veterans in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan military villages after 1949, using broad-bean chili paste; Taipei has held a beef noodle festival since 2005.

Frequently asked questions

What is Beef Noodle Soup?

Beef Noodle Soup is a soup & stew from Taiwan: slow-braised beef shank and chewy noodles in rich soy-spiced broth. Created by Sichuanese veterans in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan military villages after 1949, using broad-bean chili paste; Taipei has held a beef noodle festival since 2005.

How long does Beef Noodle Soup take to make?

Beef Noodle Soup takes 30 min of preparation and 3 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Beef Noodle Soup?

Yes, within limits. No doubanjiang: 2 tbsp gochujang plus 1 tsp miso is a rough stand-in, though it is sweeter and less funky. For qingdun, the clear-braised style, leave out both bean pastes, the dark soy and the sugar and season with salt and rice wine alone. No fresh noodles: thick dried wheat noodles or even udon carry the broth acceptably.

What is the most important thing to get right in Beef Noodle Soup?

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the two bean pastes for 2 minutes until the oil turns red and smells toasty. Do not let them scorch or the soup turns bitter.