This is the national dish of Taiwan but originates from mainland China. The KMT (nationalist party) that fled China to Taiwan invented it. What makes it uniquely Taiwanese is the toasted soy sauce on the braised beef, known as “red roasting” (braising with soy sauce).
The initial acidic, sharp flavour of the sauce softens and is replaced by a toasted aroma. In China, beef noodle soup has a stronger and purer beefy taste, made without the red roasting of the soy sauce. More of a noodle dish that contains some soup, this is a popular street food served in a bag to go.
Taiwanese beef noodle soup
(Serves 4)
cooking oil
3 large onions, diced
5 garlic cloves, pressed
100g ginger, thickly sliced
4 spring onions, chopped
8 star anise
1kg beef shank or shin, cut into chunks (keep the bones)
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
4 large carrots, chopped (thick slices)
4 plum tomatoes or 150g rosa tomatoes, skinned
1 tbs Chinese five-spice
¼ cup orange juice
1 packet (300g) egg noodles
salt
chopped chilli
Optional extras:*
¼ cup rice wine
1 tsp - ¼ cup brown sugar
bok choy
handful chopped coriander
1 spring onion, chopped
pickled mustard leaves
Method
In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat oil and sauté onion
until golden.
Add garlic, ginger, spring onions and star anise, and cook until onions are golden brown. Remove from pan and place in
a bowl.
Drizzle more oil into the pot and add the beef (and bones - they add rich flavour). Fry until the meat has browned.
Add a dash of soy sauce and continue to fry for 2 minutes, adding more soy sauce to “red roast” the beef.
Add the carrots, tomatoes, Chinese five-spice and orange juice (and rice wine and sugar if using), and stir.
Return the onion mix to the pot and add about 5 cups of water to cover all the ingredients.
Boil for 5 minutes then lower heat to a slow simmer for 1½ to
2 hours. You might need to top up the water. Leave a wooden spoon in the soup to prevent it from boiling over, and cover the pot.
Boil the egg noodles. Add a drop of oil to the water to keep the strands from sticking to one another and the pot. Rinse the noodles in cool water to keep
them chewy.
Blanch the bok choy in a separate pot, if using.
Add salt and chilli to the soup according to taste.
Place a handful of noodles in a serving bowl, ladle in the soup and some meat (and add the bok choy). If you like, garnish with coriander, spring onion and strips of pickled-mustard leaves.
* The dish will still have a rad flavour if you leave the optional ingredients out.
In Just Add Rice, Ming-Cheau Lin gives readers insight into her love of food and passion for her culture.