Chinese beef noodles in soup (牛肉麵 níu ròu mìan) can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty where it is likely to originate from the Islamic minorities. Subsequently, over the generations and with migration, there are now various regional beef noodle soups all over China.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup 紅燒牛肉麵 is famous for its tender meat and flavourful broth. 紅燒牛肉麵 (hóng shāo níu ròu mìan) translates into “Spice braised beef noodles”. Rumour has it that this dish was brought to Taiwan by a Kuomintang soldier whose hometown was in Sichuan. There's definitely a Taiwan signature to it despite having origins from Sichuan. I find that one of the main differences is that the Taiwan style doesn’t use much Sichuan peppercorn, if any.
My family and my tastes are more typical southern Chinese. We prefer less spice and less heat. And so the Taiwanese beef noodle soup is perfect for our taste buds. In my recipe, the only spices I use are cinnamon, bay leaf, star anise, and ginger. The choice of meat is also very important. You can use beef shank (牛腱níu jìan), boneless short rib or finger meat (牛抗腩níu kāng nǎn), brisket (牛腩níu nǎn) and tendon (牛筋níu jīng) to make this dish. I prefer a combination of 40% short rib and 60% beef shank. This way, I get a good fat to lean beef ratio and a good beefy flavour in the soup.
Here's an interesting tip when buying beef shank... an Asian grocery store will have more categories of beef shank. 牛腱(níu jìan), is regular beef shank, 金錢腱 (jīn qíanjìan) is the shank from the inner front leg and 牛花腱 (níu hūa jìan) is the shank from the inner hind legs. I like the finer texture of the two inner shanks which makes the meat more tender when you cook it low and slow. You can usually differentiate the regular shank from the inner ones by looking at the size. The inner ones are usually half the size of the regular ones and more expensive by weight.
My Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup 紅燒牛肉麵 recipe is easy and delicious. Try serving it with my Chinese handmade noodles and pickled mustard greens recipes for the ultimate authentic experience.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup 紅燒牛肉麵
Ingredients
- 450 g Boneless beef short rib (aka finger meat), cubed (approx. 2.5 cm)
- 750 g Beef shank (inner shank), thick sliced (approx. 1.5 cm thick)
- 550 g White radish (aka “lo bak” or “daikon”), course cut (approx. 2.5 cm)
- 350 g Carrots , course cut (approx. 2.5 cm)
- 2 stalks Green onions , uncut. Washed and tied into a knot
- 1 stalk Green onions , chopped for topping in each bowl
- 4 pieces Ginger , thick cut (approx. 5mm thick)
- 6 cloves Garlic , whole
- 4 Bay leaves
- 3 Star anise
- 1 Cinnamon stick (approx. 6cm long)
- 1-2 Chili peppers (optional)
- 2 Large shallots
- ½ c Shaoxing wine
- 40 g Rock sugar
- 1 tbsp Hot soybean sauce/paste
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 litre Water or broth (you need enough to cover all the ingredients in the pot)
- 2 tbsp Oil
Instructions
- Wash, dry and cut up meat
- Add oil to a pan or pot and sear meat on all sides on high to medium high heat. Do not overcrowd the meat
Tips on getting a good sear: meat should be at room temperature, meat should be fairly dry, meat should not touch each other in the pan, start with high heat and turn to medium high after the first flip - Remove meat from pot
- Add ginger, garlic, shallots to pot and stir fry on medium high heat until you smell the aroma
- Add 1 tbsp of the hot bean paste to the aromatics and stir fry for a minute
Note that the 1 tbsp of hot bean paste will not make the beef spicy hot. You will just have a bit of the flavour. If you want to add more hot bean paste, then reduce the salt and the soy sauce amounts - Add white radish, carrots and meat to the pot and mix well
- Add ½ c of Shaoxing wine, 4 bay leaves, 3 star anise, 40g rock sugar, knotted green onion, chili pepper, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp light soy, 2 tbsp dark soy and 1 litre water or broth. Fluid should cover all the ingredients in the pot.
- Turn heat up to high until the fluid boils, then turn the heat down to low and cook for 1.5 hours or until tender and white radish looks translucent
- During the cooking time, you can prepare the pickled mustard greens, the noodles and some bok choy if desired
- When the beef soup is ready, remove the green onions, ginger, bay leaves, star anise, chili peppers and cinnamon stick. Spoon out excess oil. Taste and add soy sauce, sugar or water to adjust flavors, if desired
- Serve the beef, white radish and carrots on top of cooked noodles and add soup. Add pickled mustard greens and bok choy. Sprinkle with chopped green onions
[…] these Chinese Handmade Noodles 手工麵 with my recipes for Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup or Beijing Style Soy Paste […]