A hearty bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup with buttery tender beef, chewy noodles, a savory aromatic broth that’s slightly sweet, and salty mustard greens. It’s such a classic dish that’s perfect for your Sunday dinner.
There are a few types of beef noodle soup in Chinese cooking. In Northwest China, there is Lanzhou beef noodle soup that features a clear broth with thick, chewy noodles served with daikon and chili oil. In the Mainland, there is red braised beef noodle soup that is quite close to the Taiwanese version, but with a spicier and less sweet broth. Today I want to show you the beloved Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Whether enjoyed as a hearty meal on a chilly day or as a nostalgic comfort food, Taiwanese beef noodle soup holds a special place in the hearts of many.
Ingredients
What cut of beef to use
Taiwanese beef noodle soup usually uses beef shank, Niu Nan (牛腩), or a combination of both.
Beef shank is the best cut for this dish. The connective tissues turn super tender and buttery during the slow cooking, keeping the meat tender and juicy. The collagen melts into the broth, creating a rich soup that has a thicker mouthfeel. You can find whole pieces of beef shank at most Chinese markets. Alternatively, you can also use shin bone (bone-in shank, cut into large pieces), which can be found at regular grocery stores.
Niu Nan sometimes gets translated as untrimmed brisket, but it’s a cut that could be the back of the brisket, short ribs and flank, with the fat cap untrimmed. Because Chinese butchering practices are very different from those in the US, there’s no direct equivalent cut. I found the best alternative to this cut is bone-in short ribs. The flavor and texture are not as nice as shank, but the meat gets super tender and the bones add great flavor to the broth.
Noodle soup ingredients
The soul of this dish lies in its broth. The ingredient list might look very long, but it can be divided into three groups:
- Sauces and flavor base: soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, Doubanjiang, tomato paste, sugar
- Aromatics and vegetables: onion, scallion, carrot, garlic, ginger, tomato, daikon
- Spices: Star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns
The flavor base is the foundation of the soup, creating the savory flavor that is slightly sweet and spicy. The aromatics and vegetables add a layer of umami and fruitiness to the soup. The spices are key to developing a deep and complex flavor that is earthy and warm.
Pickled mustard green topping
Taiwanese beef noodle soup is often served with pickled mustard greens as a part of the toppings. I really love the recipe made by Richard Ho, the chef behind the famous restaurant Ho Foods. So I want to share an adapted version of his recipe. The ingredients include:
- A bag of pickled mustard greens
- Garlic
- Birdseye chilis
- Sugar
The base of the recipe uses pickled mustard greens, a salty pickle made with Gai Choy. You can usually find it at Chinese markets, packaged individually in a bag on the room temperature shelves. The pickles are extremely salty, almost inedible by themselves, but the flavor pairs well with the noodles. This recipe takes them up a notch because it adds some heat and sweetness to the salty pickles to balance out the flavor. You also want to cook the mustard greens to get rid of the muddy taste and create a nicer texture.
How to cook Taiwanese beef noodle soup
The recipe might look very long and intimidating, but the process is actually quite straightforward once you gather the ingredients.
Braise the beef
The first part is braising the beef and making the noodle soup base. The beef takes hours to simmer, but you can cook this part ahead of time and heat it up later.
To get the broth started, blanch the beef to get rid of the blood and impurities.
Saute the aromatics and vegetables to bring out the fragrance. Cook the doubanjiang and deglaze the pot with Shaoxing wine.
Add water and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the beef turns very tender. Once done, remove the beef and set aside to cool. Discard the solids (vegetables, aromatics and spices).
Make the mustard green stir fry
Make sure you rinse the pickled mustard greens before chopping them. It removes some saltiness from the pickles, making them more pleasant to eat.
To make the mustard green stir fry, cook the garlic and birdseye chilis to release fragrance. Saute the pickled mustard greens with sugar. Cook until the mustard greens have wilted and the sugar has dissolved.
Assemble the noodle bowls
To make the noodle bowls, you should have the broth you plan to serve heating up in a small pot.
In a different big pot, blanch the vegetable topping and boil the noodles.
Slice the beef once it has cooled off enough to handle. Then submerge the beef in the hot broth to bring it up to serving temperature.
Once done, you can place the noodles in each serving bowl, pour in the broth, then top with the beef, pickles, vegetables, and scallions.
Can I make Taiwanese beef noodle soup in an Instant Pot?
Yes, you definitely can! To make the recipe in an Instant Pot, all you need to do is follow the same instructions to blanch the beef first. Then you can saute the ingredients in the Instant Pot (recipe steps 2 to 4). Add the beef back, along with the rest of the ingredients. For the Instant Pot, I would only use 6 cups of water, because you won’t lose as much liquid when cooking in an Instant Pot. If the liquid doesn’t fully cover everything, no worries! The vegetables and beef will eventually release enough liquid to cover everything. Set to cook on high pressure for 40 minutes and use natural release.
NOTE: Even if using an Instant Pot, be aware that the total cooking time doesn’t change much, because it takes a very long time to add pressure and decompress.
Afterthoughts
Taiwanese beef noodle soup definitely takes some time and effort to make, which makes it a perfect weekend project. Whether you’re trying it at a famous noodle shop in Taipei or making it at home, this dish is a testament to Taiwan’s love for comforting and flavorful food. Give it a try, and let this iconic soup warm your soul!
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Beef and broth
- 2 to 3 lbs (900 to 1300 g) beef shank (*Footnote 1)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 scallions , halved
- 1 onion , quartered
- 1 carrot , chopped roughly
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb ginger , sliced
- 2 tomatoes , chopped roughly
- 3 ” (8 cm) daikon , chopped roughly
- 2 heaping spoons (40 g) rock sugar (or 2 packed tablespoons brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons doubanjiang
- 1/2 cup Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 star anise pods
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste) (*Footnote 2)
Mustard Greens (Optional but highly recommended, Footnote 3)
- 8 oz pickled mustard greens , drained, rinsed, and diced into 1/4” pieces
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 Thai birdseye chilis
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Soup Bowls
- 1.3 to 2 lbs (600 to 900 g) fresh wheat noodles (or 1 to 1.3 lb / 400 to 600 g dried wheat noodles) (*Footnote 4)
- Baby bok choy , halved or quartered depending on the size (or other greens)
- Scallions , sliced
Instructions
- Add the beef shank into a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from sticking. After the water is boiling, cook for 5 minutes. Drain the beef and discard the broth. Rinse any brown foam from the beef with tap water if needed.
- In a dutch oven (or the same big pot you just used), add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the scallion, onion, carrot, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the doubanjiang. Stir to coat everything well, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the Shaoxing wine. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Add back the blanched beef and pour in 8 cups of water. Add the tomato, daikon, soy sauce, fennel seeds, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and cinnamon sticks. Cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until the beef turns tender. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning by adding salt, if needed.
- Once the soup is done, transfer the beef pieces to a big plate to cool. Use a spider to remove and discard the solid ingredients from the soup. You can use a colander to strain the soup further for a clear broth. (*Footnote 5) At this point, you can store the broth and the beef for future use.
For the Mustard Green Pickle
- While the broth is simmering, prepare the pickled greens. Add the oil into a medium pan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and chilis. Stir and cook for 30 seconds to release fragrance.
- Add the pickled mustard greens. Stir and cook until any excess liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar. Cook and stir until the sugar has dissolved, 2 minutes or so. Transfer everything to a small bowl and set aside.
Assemble the Noodle Bowls
- Warm 1 to 1 1/2 cup of soup for each bowl (the amount of soup depends on the size of the noodle bowl). After boiling, cover and turn to low heat to keep warm.
- When it’s possible to handle the beef with your hands, slice the beef into 1/2” (1 cm) thick pieces against the grain. Add the sliced beef to the hot soup to bring it up to serving temperature.
- Heat a pot of water over high heat to bring to a boil. Add 3 to 4 pieces of bok choy per bowl to the water and blanch for a minute, or to desired doneness. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon. Quickly rinse with cold tap water to stop cooking, drain, and set aside.
- Cook the noodles according to package instructions in the same pot. Drain and rinse with cold tap water briefly to stop cooking. Drain again.
- To each serving bowl, add the noodles, pour in the soup, top with the sliced beef, mustard greens, and bok choy. Sprinkle with scallion slices to garnish. Serve immediately as a main dish.
Notes
- Boneless beef shanks in whole pieces work the best. If not available, bone-in short ribs are the next best option. Other cuts of meat such as chuck roast, shin bone, and boneless short ribs are good alternatives as well.
- I used 1/2 teaspoon salt in my recipe and it really brings out the flavor of the spices. Depending on how much your broth gets reduced and the brand of soy sauce you use, you might need to adjust the amount of salt (or skip it all together).
- The beef noodle soup tastes really good by itself, but the pickled mustard greens add a punch of salty, sweet and spicy umami. You don’t have to use them if it’s hard to find the ingredients, but it does make the dish shine.
- Fresh wheat noodles that are about 1/8” thick are the best for this recipe, but you can easily replace them with dried wheat noodles that have a chewy texture, such as udon noodles.
- The vegetables were used to season the broth. However, the daikon and the carrots are edible, so you can also serve them with the noodles.
- The nutritional value does not include the mustard green pickles or the bok choy.
