Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 800 g stewing beef, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 6 garlic, crushed
• 30 g fresh ginger, sliced
• 3 star anise
• 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp doubanjiang
• 3 tomato, cut into wedges
• 4 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1½ l beef stock
• 400 g egg noodles
• 2 bok choy, quartered lengthways
• 4 spring onion, thinly sliced

Method

1. 1.

   Blanch the beef clean — Cover the beef with cold water in a large pot, bring it to the boil and let it bubble for 5 minutes while you skim off the grey foam. Drain, rinse the chunks and wash out the pot — this is what makes the finished broth clear rather than muddy.

2. 2.

   Toast spices and aromatics — Dry the pot, warm the oil over medium heat and toast the star anise, sichuan peppercorns and cinnamon stick for 30 seconds, until they smell like a spice shop. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry for 4-5 minutes until softened and golden at the edges.

3. 3.

   Fry the chilli bean paste — Stir in the doubanjiang and fry it for a full minute, until the oil around it turns deep red. Add the tomato wedges and cook for 4-5 minutes more, pressing them down until they collapse into the paste.

4. 4.

   Simmer until the beef gives — Return the beef, pour in the shaoxing wine, soy sauce and beef stock and bring it to the boil. Cover and simmer very gently for 2 hours, until a chunk gives way completely when pressed with the back of a spoon.

5. 5.

   Taste and adjust the broth — Fish out the whole spices and taste the broth: it should be deeply savoury with a slow chilli warmth behind it. Add a splash more soy sauce if it needs sharpening.

6. 6.

   Boil noodles and greens — Cook the egg noodles in a separate pan of boiling water until just tender, then lift them out and drop the bok choy into the same water for 1 minute, until the stems are bright and still snappy.

7. 7.

   Assemble the bowls — Divide the noodles between four deep bowls, spoon over the beef and ladle the hot broth on top. Finish each bowl with bok choy and a heap of sliced spring onion.