Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
A delicious and authentic noodles and dumplings recipe for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, prepared with traditional seasonings and techniques.
Ingredients
- • 2 to 3 lbs beef shank ((*Footnote 1))
- • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- • 4 spring onions (, halved)
- • 1 onion (, quartered)
- • 1 carrot (, chopped roughly)
- • 6 cloves garlic
- • 1 thumb ginger (, sliced)
- • 2 tomatoes (, chopped roughly)
- • 3 ” daikon (, chopped roughly)
- • 2 tablespoons doubanjiang
- • 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
- • 1/2 cup soy sauce
- • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- • 2 heaping spoons rock sugar ((or 2 packed tablespoons brown sugar))
- • 2 star anise pods
- • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- • 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- • 1 cinnamon stick
- • 1/2 teaspoon salt ((or to taste) (*Footnote 2))
- • 8 oz pickled mustard greens (, drained, rinsed, and diced into 1/4” pieces)
- • 3 garlic cloves (, minced)
- • 2 Thai birdseye chillies
- • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- • 2 tablespoons sugar
- • 1.3 to 2 lbs fresh wheat noodles
- • Baby bok choy (, halved or quartered depending on the size (or other greens))
- • Spring Onions (, sliced)
Preparation Steps
Add the beef shank into a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from sticking. After the water is boiling, cook for 5 minutes. Drain the beef and discard the broth. Rinse any brown foam from the beef with tap water if needed.
In a dutch oven (or the same big pot you just used), add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the spring onions, onion, carrot, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the doubanjiang. Stir to coat everything well, 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour in the Shaoxing wine. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
Add back the blanched beef and pour in 8 cups of water. Add the tomato, daikon, soy sauce, tomato paste, rock sugar, star anise, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks. Cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the beef turns tender. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning by adding salt, if needed.
Once the soup is done, transfer the beef pieces to a big plate to cool. Use a spider to remove and discard the solid ingredients from the soup. You can use a colander to strain the soup further for a clear broth. (*Footnote 5) At this point, you can store the broth and the beef for future use.