Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 lbs beef shank ((*Footnote 1))
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 scallions (, 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 chilis
• 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))
• Scallions (, sliced)

Steps

1. 1

   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.

2. 2

   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 scallion, onion, carrot, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the doubanjiang. Stir to coat everything well, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Pour in the Shaoxing wine. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

5. 5

   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.

6. 6

   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.

7. 7

   While the broth is simmering, prepare the pickled greens. Add the oil into a medium pan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and chilis. Stir and cook for 30 seconds to release fragrance.

8. 8

   Add the pickled mustard greens. Stir and cook until any excess liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar. Cook and stir until the sugar has dissolved, 2 minutes or so. Transfer everything to a small bowl and set aside.

9. 9

   Warm 1 to 1 1/2 cup of soup for each bowl (the amount of soup depends on the size of the noodle bowl). After boiling, cover and turn to low heat to keep warm.

10. 10

    When it’s possible to handle the beef with your hands, slice the beef into 1/2” (1 cm) thick pieces against the grain. Add the sliced beef to the hot soup to bring it up to serving temperature.

11. 11

    Heat a pot of water over high heat to bring to a boil. Add 3 to 4 pieces of bok choy per bowl to the water and blanch for a minute, or to desired doneness. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Quickly rinse with cold tap water to stop cooking, drain, and set aside.

12. 12

    Cook the noodles according to package instructions in the same pot. Drain and rinse with cold tap water briefly to stop cooking. Drain again.

13. 13

    To each serving bowl, add the noodles, pour in the soup, top with the sliced beef, mustard greens, and bok choy. Sprinkle with scallion slices to garnish. Serve immediately as a main dish.