Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

A little over 10 years ago, I set foot onto Taiwan soil for the very first time. Mr. V and his family live in a little town called Chiayi about 160 miles south of Taipei. His mom owns an English ‘Buxiban’ aka Taiwanese cram school there.

Every day from 12pm to 10pm, herds of sweaty, loud and over energetic kids would swarm all over the school… and me. It was both pure joy and torture working with kids day in day out. The only consolation I had at the end of a long day was a bowl of Niu Rou Mien (Beef Noodles).

But it’s not just any beef noodles in Chiayi. It has to be the one at the roundabout in the city that only starts serving at 10pm.

Yup.

If you know my struggles with Taiwanese food, you’ll know that I don’t love it. At least not during my first couple of years there. But beef noodles was an exception. It was probably the only thing I’d crave for and has been my savior during my time in Taiwan.

Seeing that Taiwan Independence Day is approaching, what better way to celebrate and remember Taiwan than to make some Taiwanese Beef Noodles.

A flavor packed beef stock which includes not just beef marrow but also pork hocks and chicken feet that has been simmered for the longest time possible.

Combine this with a concentrated savory and spicy beef sauce for the ultimate beef noodle soup along with melt in the mouth beef, noodles and spicy pickled mustard green.

Tip:

It may look like the longest recipe you’ve ever seen, but really it’s simply divided into two parts. A stock and a concentrated beef sauce. Mix these two and you’ll get the best beef soup in the world. Then there’s only really noodles to cook. Easy peasy. The beef and daikon are braised in the concentrated sauce instead of the stock so that they’re filled with out of this world flavor.

If you love stock based noodles, then you’re going to love this Tonkotsu Ramen. Rich, delicious pork & chicken broth with fresh noodles, soft yolk eggs & melt in the mouth pork belly.

Also, check out my last post Zucchini Potato Fritters with roasted pepper mayo. Beautiful golden fritters crispy on the outside, soft & moist on the inside. Packed with flavor & paired with roasted pepper mayonnaise

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

 

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Flavor packed beef noodle soup made from beef stock of 3 types of meat plus a concentrated beef sauce. Top with melt in the mouth beef, noodles & pickled mustard green.

Author: AiPing | Curious Nut

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• Beef stock
• 6 lb beef marrow, sawed into 2 inches thick
• 1 lb pork hock or trotters, sawed into 2 inches thick
• 1 lb chicken feet
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, bruised
• 1" ginger, sliced
• 5 green onions, cut into 3" length
• 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorn
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• Enough water to almost cover the bones (about 13 cups)
• 
  
• Beef sauce
• 3 lb beef chuck, 1½" cubed
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, bruised
• ¾ inch ginger, sliced
• 3 green onions
• 2-3 whole red dried chilies
• 1 large daikon, cut into 1" thick
• ¾ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup soy paste
• ½ cup tomato paste
• ¼ cup fermented tofu (see note 1)
• 2 - 4 tbs chili black bean sauce (more or less depending on how spicy you want)
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tbs thick caramel sauce (for color)
• 3 cups water
• Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
• 
  
• Herb Bag
• 1 whole star anise
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1½ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbs cinnamon (cassia) chips
• 1 cinnamon (ceylon) stick
• 2 whole cloves
• ½ tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp coriander seed
• 2 bay leaves
• 
  
• 2-3 lb noodles (see note 2), cooked according to package directions
• 
  
• Garnish
• Scallions, chopped
• Pickled mustard green, diced (see note 3)

Directions

Beef Stock

1. In an 8 quart or larger stock pot, add the beef marrow, pork hock and chicken feet. Add cold water to over them by 1 inch. Bring the liquid to boil. Once boiled, remove the scum that surfaces. Drain and rinse the bones.
2. Place the bones back into the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients for the stock and bring it to a boil. The water does not have to cover the bones. There will be excess water from the bones and vegetables. Once the water has boiled, cover the pot and simmer on low for at least 6 hours. Best if it's 12-18 hours.
3. Remove the grease from the surface and strain the stock. If you want, you can cook a second round of stock with the same bones (I do that). It won't be as concentrated as the first but it's still good stock.

Beef Sauce

1. In a large saucepan or pot, brown the beef over medium high heat. Set aside.
2. In the same pan or pot, char the onion, garlic, ginger, green onions and dry chilies. Add the beef and stir to combine. Add the rest of the sauce. The beef will start to absorb the sauce. Add the water and herb bag. Bring the liquid to boil.
3. Once boiled, cover and simmer on low for 2 - 3 hours until the beef is soft to your liking. Season with salt and pepper. This sauce is meant to be super concentrated and on the salty side. Remove the grease but don't discard it. Use this chili grease to fry the pickled mustard green.

Assemble

1. Add some noodles to a bowl and top with beef. Add the bone stock and beef sauce at 3:1 ratio stock to sauce. So for every 3 cups stock, you add 1 cup sauce. Taste and adjust according to your liking. If it's not salty, add some salt. If it's too salty, add more stock. If you want it spicier, add chili black bean sauce. Top with pickled mustard green and green onions. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. Fermented tofu (I use the TK brand) and chili black bean sauce (I use the Lee Kum Kee brand) can be found in most Chinese markets.

2. The type of noodles used is really up to you. Different noodles have different weight too. You can buy them fresh from any Asian market. Sometimes I use thin noodles while other times I use the thicker ones.

3. To find out how to make mustard green, check out this post. Alternatively, you can buy commercially sold ones in most Asian markets.

4. I buy most of my herbs and spices from Mountain Rose Herbs. The difference between the two types of cinnamon is one is Ceylon (lesser known but better kind) while the other is cassia (most grocery stores sell this kind).

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