{recipe} taiwanese beef noodle soup

I never thought I would ever make a taiwanese dish. 

I also never imagined myself marrying a taiwanese guy but that happens sometimes and when it does, you learn how to make beef noodle soup. I remember the first time I ate beef noodle soup, the smell/taste/experience was so overwhelming. The broth is so dark and deep in flavor, the meat so riddled with fatty tendons and it was all very confusing to me.

Fast forward 5 years, and now I've been married to a taiwanese guy for 4.5 years and have had many beef noodle soups. I think for my korean palate, it was an acquired taste -- and now I love it! I wanted to try and learn how to make more chinese/taiwanese dishes for Eugene, especially since I mainly make korean food and I know sometimes he gets sick of kimchi. This was my first experiment - and after a few tries, I think I got a good recipe down. Of course this is tailored moreso for my husband's tastebuds (he is my #1 customer, you know!) so it has a bit of a spicier kick and more meat than most dishes. We had also hosted two beef noodle soup tasting parties and a total of 6 people + eugene have approved of this recipe - so I hope you will accept my newb-y attempt at this taiwanese recipe :) 

First, the aromatics.

My sweet friend (and neighbor) MB gave me some of her star anise and sichuan peppercorns. Chinese grocery markets are so overwhelming to me. There are rows and rows of packets of spices and dried this + that -- I couldn't dare look at each label with a baby in tow. She graciously shared generous amounts of these spices with me and they were key to this recipe. 

I know this might be weird but I think the little bowl full of spices is so cute! Especially with the star anise and cinnamon stick. So cute! 

The most important element of this dish is obviously the broth. This is where most of the time and energy must be invested. Apart from the normal broth enhancers (quartered onions, whole garlic cloves, ginger), carrots and a tomato join the party to bring depth to the broth. 

The spices get slightly toasted, then glazed with a bit of rice wine (a little goes a long way for this part!) then the other guys slowly join the party to make your kitchen smell amazing.

I let the flavors marry a bit (without overcooking any of the vegetables) before I add the water. I guess if you want to go crazy you can broil your garlic, tomato, ginger and onion pieces for a few minutes before adding them in. I don't know. Go crazy if you wanna,

After the water goes in, the broth is almost ready. You add some soy sauce and some beef bouillon  paste (which I usually would not use because of the msg content, but wasn't brave enough to try to recipe without it!).  Only thing we really need now is the meat. I chose beef shank pieces that had really good tendon inside. Just ask the butcher to choose a good one for you.

Ooh tendon! 

It's better to cut the meat into bite sized pieces before adding the meat into the broth. I think the smaller surface area allows the 6-8 hours of cook time to really work at the rough tendon spots to make it soft and juicy. My knives all suck so I couldn't cut through any of it so had to cook the meat whole for 1-2 hours and take it out to cut it. Maybe you have an amazing knife and can forego that step! Whichever way you do it, it'll still turn out soft and tender if you put in the time!

6-8 hours later, the broth becomes super thick and rich, the meat become perfectly soft and tender and you're ready to go.  I totally forgot to take a photo after adding the garnishes (which is crucial!) so don't forget that. Just imagine a few sprigs of cilantro, a few slices of red pepper, chopped green onion and some pickled mustard greens. Use your imagination. It's a lot more pretty with all that extra  color!

Bon appetite!



Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Adapted from Angel Wong's Kitchen, Epicurious and The Kitchn

/ ingredients /

1.5-2 lb beef shank

spices
1/2 tsp. fennel
3-4 star anise
8 whole cloves
1 tsp. sichuan peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
4 tbsp rice wine (for deglazing)

vegetables for broth
3-4 green onions
1 medium onion
3-4 carrots, peeled
1 tomato
10 cloves of garlic
3'' piece of ginger, cut in pieces

6-8 cups of water
6 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs beef bouillon paste

the goods
knife-cut frozen noodles
baby bok choy
pickled mustard greens
fresh red chilis
cilantro
green onions


/ directions /
1. assemble spices
2. cut onion, green onion, tomato, garlic and ginger. cut and peel carrots.
3. cut beef shank into smaller pieces, if possible.
4. add spices to pot on medium heat and toss. add rice wine and toss again. add vegetables in broth and allow to slightly cook.
5. add water, soy sauce and beef bouillon paste and mix broth contents. cook under medium-high heat. add beef shank pieces.
6. allow broth to come to a boil (about 20-30 minutes) then lower heat to low-medium and simmer for 6-8 hours. taste broth at 6 hour mark and add small amounts of water if needed.
7. when broth is ready -- use a tong to remove beef shank pieces from the broth and set aside.
8. cook noodles and have garnishes handy.
9. arrange cooked noodles in the bowl. use a ladle + strainer to pour broth into the noodle bowl. (you need to use the strainer because the broth vegetables are still there (carrots, tomato, onion, ginger, etc) and you don't want that gunk in your soup!
10. add meat to the bowl and assemble garnish. serve immediately!