Cook: Elliott's Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Niu Rou Mien 牛肉面
Taiwanese beef noodle soup is a recipe I first tackled in 2014 and it was tedious. I was in the kitchen doing something that involved the soup for 3 days straight. If you have time to do it the traditional way, which involves making separate broths and your own spice bags, then by all means go for it. But, this version is much more home chef, friendly recipe, you’re welcome! Elliott has made this many times for our friends and family and we’ve finally gotten the recipe to a place where we think you’ll enjoy making this meal and eating it.
Ingredients - This will make a hefty batch. We’re usually cooking for 10 or more people. So, feel free to pare down the ingredients if you’re just making it for 2-4.
3.5-4 lbs of beef shank (this will serve around 10 ppl)
6 slices of ginger (separated into 2 piles of 3 pieces each)
3-4 scallions chopped into thirds (and separated into 2 piles)
Enough water to cover the beef using a 10 quart stock pot
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large, white onion (sliced)
3 medium tomatoes (skin on and quartered)
1 cup of soy sauce (add more to flavor it as you cook)
1/2 cup of Shaoxing wine (you can find this at the Asian market)
4 tbsp of spicy bean paste
5 star anise
5-6 bay leaves
1 piece of rock sugar (about the size of a quarter)
1 tbsp of Szechuan peppercorns
2-3 Thai chilis (if you like it spicy)
About 8 cloves of garlic
1 can of beef broth (you can use water if you don’t have broth on hand, it’s just to keep the liquid full once it starts cooking down)
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Thick, flour noodles (fresh, if possible - you can find these in the refrigerated section of your Asian market) - don’t use egg noodles for this recipe.
Garnish:
Bok shoy (baby bok choy works too)
Cilantro
Scallions (chopped)
Chinese mustard greens (optional)
Directions:
Bring a large stock pot (we use a 10 quart sized pot) of water to boil.
Rinse the beef shanks and once the water is boiling, put them in the pot along with the first pile of ginger slices and green onions. Once the water is boiling again cook the meat for 5 minutes until it’s browned on the outside. It will still be red when you cut it and that’s ok, since it’ll be simmering for a long time. This produces super tender meat!
Remove the beef shanks and cut into bite sized chunks. Discard half of the water, leave the rest for your soup base.
In a separate pan (we like to use a wok), heat vegetable oil and cook the garlic, onions, 2nd pile of ginger and scallions, star anise, rock sugar, and spicy bean paste over medium-high heat until the onions becomes soft and fragrant.
Using cheesecloth (making a small packet) or a loose leaf tea ball strainer, add in your Szechuan peppercorns and sliced Thai bird chili peppers. This will make it easier to remove after the soup is ready. Keep this handy, you’ll stick in the soup pot later.
Add in the beef, tomatoes, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine to the onion mixture and stir for 10 minutes over the heat. Everything should be well-coated in the sauce you just made.
Transfer everything from the wok (including all the juice) into your stock pot with water and add in bay leaves and your cheesecloth or loose leaf tea filter filled with peppercorns and chili peppers. Add kosher salt and white pepper powder. Add beef stock or water (if necessary) so that everything is covered.
Simmer on low heat for 3-4 hours tasting each hour and stirring as you go. You’ll be able to tell what you need to add as the flavors build during the cooking time.
About 20 minutes before the soup is ready, prep your noodles and bok choy. Bring 2 pots of water to boil (salt the bok choy water but not the noods) and cook your noodles and bok choy separately. The bok choy should only take a couple of minutes until the green parts turn bright. Follow instructions on your noodle package and once they are done put in a strainer and rinse with cold water (this will prevent them forming a sticky blob).
Serving Instructions:
Place noodles in the bowl, add a few pieces of bok choy and pour the soup on top. Garnish with cilantro and scallions. You can also add some spicy chili crisp if you want even more heat!
There are a ton of ingredients in this recipe, so gathering everything first is essential.
The beef won’t take too long to brown - 5-6 minutes should the trick.
Cut into bite-sized chunks. The red is ok, it will cook all the way through during the simmering process.
Give everything a good mix before it goes into the pot. If you’re cooking for a lot of people, like we were here, do this step in 2 parts.
Don’t forget to stir and taste every 30 minutes to an hour. This will ensure you get the flavor just how you want it.
