Beef Noodle Soup 牛肉麵

It's been a few months since my last post, and we're now in the middle of winter. With the mild winter this year, I thought I wouldn't get to cook the soups I usually make during the winter months. But the temperature finally dropped enough for me to crave hot soup.

Beef noodle soup 牛肉麵 [Mandarin: niu rou mian / Taiwanese: gu ba mi] was arguably my favorite food growing up, and, as such, it has a special place in my heart. I've tried making this without vegetables and with vegetables, and I've found I like the version with vegetables more. The addition of vegetables when making the broth imparts a naturally sweet flavor. I'm using an onion and tomato in this recipe. I think daikon would give very nice flavor to the soup as well.

You will need: 3-4 lb beef chuck roast, 3 Tbsp cooking oil, 8-10 cloves garlic, 6 slices ginger, 1 medium onion, 1 large tomato, 6 Tbsp chili bean sauce, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup rice wine, 3 star anise, water, Chinese noodles (can be substituted with fettuccine), and bok choy.

Chili bean sauce 辣豆瓣醬 [Mandarin: la dou ban jiang] is a spicy paste made from fermented soybeans. There is also a non-spicy version that does not include chili if you don't like spicy food. Beef noodle soup is traditionally spicy, but you are certainly welcome to customize your soup to fit your taste. You can find both versions of the bean sauce in an Asian market. I prefer the brand (pictured below) with the blue lid that is made in Taiwan. Lee Kum Kee is another brand that I would trust.

First, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then lower the beef into the boiling water. The goal is not to cook the meat. What we're doing at this stage is getting rid of some of the yucky protein residue that comes from cooking meat in a soup.

Let the meat cook for about 3-4 minutes, just so the outside is white. Fish the meat out and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Discard the water.

Cut the beef into cubes. Set aside.

Heat up the cooking oil in a hot wok. Once the oil is hot, throw in the ginger slices and peeled garlic cloves. Stir fry until fragrant.

Then chop the onion into large chunks and throw the chunks into the wok. Stir it around.

Put the bean sauce into the wok. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Now, cut the tomato into 8 wedges and throw the wedges in. Stir it around.

Now, add the beef chunks.

Stir fry until the beef chunks turn mostly white.

Transfer the mixture from the wok to a large pot. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and star anise. Cover the meat with water.

Bring the soup to a boil. Then turn down the heat and cover with a lid. Allow the soup to simmer for about 5-6 hours (or longer if you like).

Here's what my soup looks like after 6 hours of simmering. The garlic, onion and tomato chunks should now be super soft and almost disintegrated. The beef should be tender but not falling apart. The soup is condensed and very flavorful by this point. If you like, you can filter out the ginger, garlic, onion, tomato, and star anise. I personally don't mind them staying in the soup.

Now, we assemble the bowl. First, boil up some noodles and put the cooked noodles in a large bowl.

Chop up some bok choy and boil them in the same water you cooked the noodles in. Fish them out and top your noodles with them. Then ladle some of the noodle cooking liquid into the bowl too.

Now, ladle some of the beef soup into the bowl. Make sure you top off with lots of the tender beef. Garnish with some chopped green onions if you so choose. Another popular and traditional topping is Chinese sauerkraut 酸菜 [Mandarin: suan cai]. I chose not to top mine off with anything because I was hungry.

Enjoy!

Soy Sauce Braised Ground Pork Over Rice 肉燥飯

Since this is the first recipe I'm sharing with the world, I thought I would start with a classic Taiwanese dish.

肉燥飯 [Mandarin: rou zao fan / Taiwanese: bah so png] is a simple dish that is considered a comfort food by many. A Taiwanese person who is homesick would usually be missing this dish. Pretty much every Taiwanese grandmother has her own recipe that she passes down to her daughters and granddaughters. Here, I am sharing my family's recipe, given to me by my grandmother. The measurements are approximate since, like most Taiwanese home cooks, we measure ingredients with rice bowls and soup spoons.

You will need: 1 lb fatty ground pork, 6 cloves garlic, 6 shallots, 1/4 cup fried shallots, 1 tbsp cooking oil, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp soy paste, 10-12 lumps rock sugar, 1/4 cup rice wine, and 1/2 cup water.

Some notes about the ingredients:

• Soy paste 醬油膏 [Mandarin: jiang you gao / Taiwanese: tau iu ko] has a thicker consistency than soy sauce. It also has a sweeter flavor than regular soy sauce and is used in this recipe for the sweetness. This is definitely not something you can find in a western grocery store. I usually buy the Kimlan 金蘭 brand soy paste. Remember to refrigerate after opening.

• Rock sugar 冰糖 [Mandarin: bing tang / Taiwanese: thng sng (old Taiwanese) / ping thng (modern Taiwanese)] is used often in Chinese/Taiwanese cooking. I am not sure what it is about rock sugar, but using granulated sugar in this dish does not give the same flavor. I've tried raw sugar and brown sugar before too. They just don't measure up to the flavor that rock sugar gives. You should be able to find rock sugar in your local Chinese grocery store.

• Fried shallots 油蔥酥 [Taiwanese: iu chhang soo] or 紅蔥酥 [Mandarin: hong cong su] is exactly what its name implies. It has a flavor akin to the french fried onion rings that are used to top green bean casseroles. You can pick this up at your local Chinese grocery store.

• Rice wine 米酒 [Mandarin: mi jiu / Taiwanese: bi chiu] is the most common cooking wine used in Taiwanese cooking. Some Taiwanese rice wine used for cooking has added salt and is not for drinking. I haven't tried substituting with grape wine, and I'm not sure if I want to try. However, sherry can be used as a substitute.

Now, let's start cooking!

First, cut the garlic and shallots into thin slices.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat. When the wok is hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the base. Don't have a wok? A large pan will do.

Add the shallots into the wok and stir-fry for about 10 seconds. Then put the garlic in too. The reason for this order is because garlic browns faster and can burn if put into the wok first.

Next, throw in the fried shallots. Your kitchen should be smelling really yummy at this point.

Now put the ground pork in too. As it cooks, break the ground pork into small pieces with your spatula.

Before the ground pork browns completely, stir in the soy sauce, soy paste, rock sugar, and rice wine.

Cover the wok. And turn the heat down to low. Let the mixture simmer for 5-10 minutes so the flavors can all meld together. Stir frequently. You don't want it to burn. 

This is the point when I usually transfer the pork mixture to another pot to free up my wok to cook something else.

Add some water. Replace the cover and continue to let it braise on low heat for 30 minutes. Stir it once in a while to prevent burning on the bottom. 

While the meat is braising, cook some rice.

When the meat is done, scoop a few spoons of the pork and sauce onto a bowl of white rice. Inhale the wonderful aroma of the meat and shallots and sugary soy sauce. Then it's time to dig in!

If you don't like rice, the meat and sauce are awesome on noodles too. Just cook some noodles (spaghetti or linguine will do). Boil some bok choy in the noodle cooking liquid while you're at it. Top the noodles and veggies with the meat and sauce and some chopped green onions. And now you have 肉燥麵 [Mandarin: rou zao mian / Taiwanese: ba so mi].

Any leftover can go in the fridge. I just put the cover on the pot and stick the whole pot in the refrigerator. To warm it up the next night, heat it up gently on low heat. If the liquid is low, just add some water.

I hope you enjoy this Taiwanese staple. Bon appetit!