Taiwanese Style Beef Noodle Soup

Beef Noodle Soup is a prevalent dish in Taiwanese cuisine. Slightly spicy and full of nutrients, Taiwan's 牛肉面 (niouroumien) has a flavor anyone can appreciate. I have tried many different Beef Noodle Soup restaurants around Taipei, but nothing comes close to my mom's Beef Noodle Soup recipe, which I have attempted to replicate below.

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

Serves: ~10 servings

Equipment

• Chopping Board
• 1 large Knife
• 2 large Stock Pots (at least 6 quarts)
• 1 Spatula (or Tongs)
• 1 Soup Ladle
• 2 Bowls to put ingredients in

Ingredients

• 3 lb Beef Chuck
• Noodles
• 1/2 can of Diced Tomatoes
• 4 Green Onions (also known as scallions)
• 1 Large Onion
• 30 Cloves of Garlic (about 2 heads of garlic)
• 1 piece of Ginger
• 5 Star Anise*
• 1/2 cup Chili Bean Sauce (touban djan)*
• 1/4 cup Shaoxing Wine*
• 1 cup Soy Sauce
• Bok Choy (Optional)*

*You may have to visit your local Asian grocery to find the items with the asterisk (*)

How to choose your beef: Look for fat marbling in your beef chuck. The fat adds flavor to the broth you will make and keeps the meat tender.

Wash and dry the green onions, onion, and ginger.

Remove the skin from the onions and the garlic.

Chop your onions into 1 inch squares. Remove both ends of the green onions and chop into 4 equal sections, lengthwise, as shown in the photo. Peel and cut the ginger into thick slices, about 1/5 of an inch. Finally, chop the beef chuck into 1 - 1.5 inch cubes, also pictured.

Fill one large stock pot with 15 ounces of water. Place the ginger, green onions, cooking wine, and beef cubes into the pot and cover. Bring the pot to a boil on high heat, then turn the heat down to medium-low to allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. While the broth is simmering, move on to Step 4.

Coat the bottom of the second pot with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Fry the onions, garlic, and star anise in the pot for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spicy bean paste. Wait for 2 minutes before stirring in the tomatoes and soy sauce. Wait for the pot to boil.

Now the hard part is over!

If both pots are ready, pour the beef broth into the second pot containing the spices. Mix the contents and cover. After bringing the pot to a boil, turn the heat down to medium low and let it simmer for 1 hour.

Turn the heat off and let the soup base sit for another hour.

While waiting, wash out the first pot to cook the noodles.

When the time is up, cook your noodles according to the instructions on the package. Bring the soup base back to a boil so it can be served hot. Optionally, throw in a few heads of washed baby bok choy for added flavor. Pick out the star anise and ginger from the soup based and serve. Optionally, add some shopped green onion or cilantro for garnish.