Beef Noodle Soup (四川红烧牛肉面)
From Sichuan, to Taiwan, and back.
The above is red braised beef noodle soup, a soup complete with tender red braised beef, some freshly made noodles, and, of course, a deliciously spicy broth.
It's a Sichuanese dish, originally, but, if you did a cursory search through the English language internet, you'd be forgiven for assuming that this soup actually came from Taiwan at first…. where, of course, beef noodle soup is practically a cultural icon.
How Beef Noodle Soup got to Taiwan
You see, the story goes that back in ‘48 and ‘49, as the nationalist forces retreated to Taiwan in the waning days of the civil war, many of them fled to the island along with, well, as much of their family as they could. And while the former Japanese colonial military bases could by and large house the ROC military personnel themselves, supplemental housing had to be built for their dependents – the villages that sprung up from this being labeled 'juan cun' (眷村) or ‘military dependents villages’. And because these dependents could and did come from pretty much anywhere, the food whipped up there ended up being this mishmash of stuff from all across the country – stuff like xiaolongbao, heyebing, and, of course, beef noodle soup.
But as the years passed, those dishes ended up changing and morphing to their local environment (as foods tend to do), over time collectively being referred to as 'juancun liaoli' (眷村料理) or the cuisine of the military dependents villages. And while we would love to go further with this tale and teach you that Taiwanese version of the beef noodle soup today, unfortunately… Taiwan food is a super difficult thing for us to cover.
Why don't we cover Taiwan food?
You see, most Chinese mainlanders like Steph have pretty much always been barred from independent travel to Taiwan – these travel restrictions are pretty much the only thing that both sides of the strait can seem to agree on. Because obviously a Cantonese person eating a street guabao presents a dire security risk for all parties involved.
Further, Taiwan restaurants in the mainland are also few and far between, so… no luck there. Still, the internet probably isn’t exactly wont for yet another Taiwan-style beef noodle soup recipe… the dish did actually, in its own way, end up coming back to the mainland.
Taiwan Noodle Soup Journeys Back to the Mainland
You see, this box is probably the most popular instant noodle soup in mainland China:
It's like… a food group in college dorms. It's the main of the sleeper train table d'hôte. It's the go-to for late night snacks when you've only got a few kuai in your pocket.
I love this instant noodle, it's a red braised beef noodle soup, and coming to China for the first time it blew my mind just how much better this was than the Top Ramen that I was used to. So being just so inextricably linked to so many memories that I have here, I was actually pretty surprised when I find out that this box was… formulated in Taiwan, by a Taiwan brand, aiming for a Taiwan beef noodle soup.
So then? This week, we wanted to show you two versions of this soup – first, that original Sichuan style just like you could find it at a noodle shop in Chengdu, but also have some fun and sort of reserve engineer that instant noodle version… which after testing actually conveniently ended up being a bit of quicker/easier homestyle variant of the former.
This recipe will have a number of moving pieces. We’ll first cover how to make Sichuan noodle shop style red braised beef, then go over four other components to a Sichuan noodle shop red braised beef noodle soup. Finally we’ll show how to assemble it, followed by how to make the whole thing easier with the instant noodle version.
Sichuan Red Braised Beef
Water, ~2L.
Aromatics for the poaching liquid:
Ginger (姜), ~2 inches. Smashed.
Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp.
Scallions, ~3. Tied in a knot.
Beef brisket (牛腩), 700g.
Red Oil Chili Bean Paste, Pixian Doubanjiang (红油郫县豆瓣酱), 4 tbsp.
Oil to fry the bean paste, 6 tbsp.
Seasoning for the braise:
Soy sauce (生抽), 2 tbsp.
Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tsp.
Salt, 1 tsp.
Spices for the braise:
Sichuan peppercorns (花椒), ½ tbsp.
Star anise (八角), 2.
Cloves (丁香), 6. Optional but recommended.
Dried sand ginger (沙姜), 8 psc. Optional but recommended. You can also swap this for dried galangal.
White cardamom (白蔻), 4. Optional.
Tsaoko a.k.a. Chinese black cardamom (草果), 1. Optional but recommended.
In a pot with about two liters of cool water and toss in ~2 inches of smashed ginger, about 1 tablespoon of liaojiu (a.k.a. Shaoxing wine), and 3 scallions or so tied in a knot. Place 700 grams of beef brisket in the cool water, and over a high flame bring all that up to a boil. If you're finding your liquid a bit gunky, skim off some of those proteins at this stage because this liquid will end up as the base for the final braise. Once it's at a rapid boil, let that go for about 5 minutes, then take out the beef and let it all cool down, reserving that blanching liquid.
Slice the beef into about ½ centimeter sheets. To a wok, over a high flame swirl in about one tablespoon of oil and once that's lightly smoking toss in the beef. Stir fry your beef on high until it's good and browned, about 5 minutes, then remove. You do not need to wash the wok yet.
Mince four tablespoons of Sichuan chili bean paste.
Back to the wok, add another 6 tablespoons of oil. Add the minced chili bean paste with the flame still off, and over a low flame begin to slowly fry that paste. We'll be looking to expel some of the moisture and stain the oil obviously red, so take your time - something like 5 minutes should get you about there. Up your flame to medium, and toss in the beef. Fry that together for about a minute or so, and then shut off the heat.
Return to blanching liquid from before. Add the beef together with the red oil that it was just fried in. Also add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce for color, 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorn, 2 star anise. Besides that, add 6 whole cloves, 8 pieces of dried sand ginger, 4 white cardamom pods, and 1 Tsaoko, a.k.a. Chinese black cardamom.
Bring all that up to a boil then down to a simmer, cover, and let that bubble away together for 90 minutes. You will be looking for the beef to be tender, but still have some structural integrity.
Let it all cool down to room temperature, transfer over to a storage container, and that should be good for about a week in the fridge, or enough for about 8 bowls of noodles. You can also freeze it.
Noodle Shop Component #1: Basic Pork Bone Stock
Pork bones (猪骨), 350g. With some meat still attached.
Aromatics for the stock:
Ginger (姜), ~1 inch. Smashed.
Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp.
Scallions, ~1. Tied in a knot.
First, blanch the pork. Add 350 grams of pork bones to a pot of cool water together with an optional slug of Shaoxing wine. Bring that up to a boil, boil it for about 2 minutes to give that pork a bit of a cleaner flavor, then remove.
To a new pot of a new 2½ liters of cool water, toss in the now-blanched pork together with an inch of smashed ginger, a scallion or two tied in a knot, and another tablespoon's glug of Shaoxing wine. Bring that up to a boil, then swap the flame down to the lowest flame your stove'll go, and let that cook for 3 hours.
After that time, just shut off the heat, let that cool, and remove the aromatics.
Noodle Shop Component #2: Toasted Chili Oil
Dried chilis, 50g. We used Sichuan erjingtiao, 二荆条.
Oil, 150g (or ¾ of a cup). We used Caiziyou (Chinese rapeseed oil), but you can also use Indian mustard seed oil or peanut oil.
Aromatics for the oil:
Ginger, ~1 inch. Smashed.
Onion (洋葱), ~¼ of an onion. Sliced.
Spices for the oil (optional but recommended):
Cinnamon (桂皮), ½ stick.
Star Anise (八角), 1.
Fennel Seed (小茴香), ¼ tsp.
Over a low flame, toast 50g of chilis for about 7 minutes til they deepen in color and get a bit brittle. Remove, and shake out some of the excess seeds.
Transfer over to a mortar and pound them into a coarse powder. You can also use a food processor or a blender.
Next, toss 150 grams or ¾ of a cup of oil to a pot. Over a high flame, bring that up til its smoking, about 220 centigrade, then shut off the heat. Let it cool down a bit, and over a medium-low flame toss in an inch of smashed ginger together with a quarter of an onion cut into slices. Let those fry until the onion gets good and golden brown, about 10 minutes, then toss in a half a cinnamon stick, one star anise, and a quarter teaspoon of fennel seed.
After another minute or so of frying, strain everything out, then return the oil to your pot. Heat that up til the oil can bubble around a pair of chopsticks, or about 150 centigrade, then add in the toasted chili flakes, mix well, and shut off the heat.
Noodle Shop Component #3: Stewed Peas
Yellow split peas (黄豌豆), preferably whole, 100g.
Baking soda (小苏打), ¼ tsp. If using whole split peas.
Add 100 grams of Yellow split peans to a bowl and soak that with cool water for a full 24 hours in the fridge.
After that time, add the peas to a pot. If you're working from whole peas, also add in a gram or about a quarter teaspoon of baking soda and let that sit for about 10 minutes.
Fill the pot up with water, bring to a boil then down to a simmer, and let that simmer, covered, for 1 hour on low.
Skim any shells that have floated to the top. Strain the peas and reserve.
Noodle Shop Component #4: Fresh Alkaline Noodles
AP Flour (中筋面粉), 200g.
Salt, ½ tsp.
Sodium carbonate (碱面) -or- kansui (枧水), ½ tsp.
Water, 90g.
Mix 200g of AP flour with a half teaspoon salt together with another half teaspoon of sodium carbonate. Drizzle in 90 grams of water, incorporating it into the flour. The dough will be quite dry and shaggy. Muster up the force you can to really press together all those scraggly bits into a ball. Rest, covered, for a half an hour to let the gluten relax.
Knead the dough it for about 8 minutes. Set aside for another 30 minutes to let it all relax once again.
Next, pass that dough through a pasta maker, which – fair warning – will take a touch of elbow grease. Just flatten that up, and then pass it through the pasta maker at the widest setting, fold it in half, then repeat that two more times. Then, swap that to the second widest setting, and pass that through twice, folding it in half after each pass. And finally, repeat by passing it through a final two times at the third widest setting to get our final sheet.
Dust the sheet with flour, then cut those noodles through the pasta maker - dusting it again immediately after cutting.
Noodle Shop: Final Assembly
Fresh noodles, 150g (or ~100g dried noodles).
Seasoning per bowl:
Salt, ¼ tsp.
MSG (味精), ⅛ tsp.
Sichuan peppercorn powder (花椒粉), ½ tsp.
Soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp.
Toasted chili oil from above or Lao Gan Ma chili crisp (老干妈香辣脆油辣椒), 1 tbsp.
Baby bok choy, ~1. Blanched.
Stock, enough to cover everything, ~350mL.
Braised beef, ~3 tbsp; braised beef liquid, ~2 tbsp.
Stewed peas, ~1 tbsp.
Sliced scallions, ~1 tbsp.
Chopped cilantro, ~1 tbsp.
Chop up some cilantro (we’ll want about ~1 tablespoon per serving) and slice some scallions (also about 1 tablespoon of scallions). Set these aside.
Blanch one baby bok choy in boiling water until done, then set aside.
To some hot water, boil 150 grams per portion of noodles until they're done, about 1 minute, then remove.
To each serving bowl, toss in the seasoning: ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon MSG, ½ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, and a tablespoon's worth of your toasted chili oil. Nestle in your cooked noodles and the blanched baby bok choy, and pour about 350mL of your hot soup all over everything.
Top that with about 3 tablespoons or so of your beef, 2 tablespoons of the beef braising liquid, and about a tablespoon of the stewed peas. Sprinkle over the sliced scallions and chopped cilantro.
Easy(…er) Instant Noodle Version
Dried noodles, 100g (or ~150g fresh noodles). We used 公仔面.
Seasoning:
Chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), 2 tsp.
Salt, ⅛ tsp.
White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), ⅛ tsp.
Onion powder (洋葱粉), 1/16 tsp.
Garlic powder (大蒜粉), 1/16 tsp.
Cayenne pepper (辣椒面), 1/16 tsp.
MSG (味精), 1/16 tsp.
Baby bok choy, ~1. Blanched.
Carrot, ~1 inch knob. Julienned and blanched.
Braised beef, ~3 tbsp; braised beef liquid, ~2 tbsp.
Fried egg, 1.
Sliced scallions, ~2 tbsp.
First, prepare your seasoning mix. For each serving, combine 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon white pepper powder, and 1/16 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and MSG.
Julienne about 1 inch of carrot. Quickly blanch your julienned carrots and one baby bok choy in the same water. Reserve.
Fry one egg per serving. Reserve.
To a pot, add 500mL of water per serving. Bring that up to a boil, and toss in your seasoning mix... because boiling with that pack just feels like the true essence of an instant noodle.
Add 100g of dried noodles per serving – we used gongzaimian. Cook until the noodles are done, then remove them to serving bowls.
To the remaining liquid, toss in 3 tablespoons of the braised beef and 2 tablespoons of the beef liquid per serving to heat them up.
To serve, nestle the fried egg into each bowl of noodles. Pile on about 2 tablespoons of chopped scallions per serving. Pour your soup all over everything, making sure to include the heated beef and its liquid.