Much as beef stew is the comfort food of Americans and Europeans, beef stew noodle soup is the comfort food of the Taiwanese. Though variations on the dish may be found throughout China, Taiwan’s take on beef noodle soup is unique: beef is braised slowly for hours and cooked in chili bean paste sauce.

12/7/2012 – We’ve recently updated this recipe, originally published Jan. 3, 2011, to answer some questions from reader Emie Lee. Thanks Emie for following the blog and sending in your questions!

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs of beef shank. In Chinese supermarkets, they sell beef shanks in whole pieces. This recipe calls for 2 medium-sized pieces.
• Package of noodles, either thin or thick depending on your preference
• 1 medium-sized white onion, cut into chunks
• 1 large tomato, cut into chunks
• 8 -10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6 slices ginger
• 6 Tbs. chili bean sauce or bean sauce (not spicy)*
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ cup cooking wine
• 3 star anise pieces
• 3 Tbs. cooking oil
• Water to cover the meat

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
2. Place 2 whole pieces of beef shank into the hot water, then cook for 3 minutes. Remove beef from the pot, rinse the pieces in water, and then cut the beef into large chunks.
3. Heat oil in a wok, adding ginger and garlic first, then stir frying for about 2 minutes. Then add onion to the wok along with bean sauce, and stir fry for another 3 minutes.
4. Continue to stir fry, adding tomato and beef chunks until the meat turns white. Then add soy sauce, cooking wine and star anise. Either use the same wok or transfer to a larger pot with accompanying lid.
5. Add water to cover the meat and cook for about 4 to 5 hours over the low heat until beef is tender. The liquid in the beef stew will be condensed when it is done.
6. Cook noodles as indicated on the package instructions. Add beef stew soup into the noodle, as well as either hot water or soup stock to taste.
7. Garnish the beef noodle soup with fresh cilantro or green onion and serve.

*If you prefer strong flavoring when it comes to beef noodle soup, increase the quantity of chili bean sauce in the recipe.

What kind of chili bean sauce or bean sauce do you recommend? A picture of the packaging would help a lot.

Here is a picture of the type of sauce I use:

When cooking the meat for 4-5 hours, do you use a slow cooker or just a normal pot?  If it’s a slow cooker, what brand or kind would you recommend?

Use a regular pot to stew the meat. A slow cooker will be fine too, but a slow cooker will retain the liquid. By contrast, a regular pot will allow the soup to condense, which enhances the flavor of meat.

Ingredients:

Part A

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 10 pieces shrimp, chopped into a paste
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce (light colored)
• 2 tbsp. cooking wine
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1/2 cup fish paste (optional)

Part B

• 4 pieces dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in water until soft, then finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup fried shallot
• 1/3 cup finely chopped water chestnut (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mix the ingredients in Part A together with a folk or spatula and stir in the same direction (e.g., clockwise) until the mixture is well blended, approximately three to four minutes.
2. Add the ingredients in Part B, then stir until well-mixed. Store this mixture in the refrigerator for two to three hours.
3. After the chicken mixture has been chilled, heat a pot of water to boil, then turn the heat to low.
4. Prepare a bowl of water and place a metal spoon in it. (Wetting the spoon will help prevent meat from sticking to the spoon as you scoop out meatballs.)
5. Shape the chicken mixture into meatballs of 1 to 1 1/4 inch diameter by using your hands (you can wear gloves). You can do this by putting some of the mixture in your palm, then squeezing the mixture through your thumb and index finger. Scoop out the meatball by using the spoon and immediately place the meatball into hot water to cook. Place the spoon back in the water bowl and repeat the process to make more meat balls.
6. Once the meat balls have floated to the surface of the pot, cook in boiling water for two more minutes, then use strainer to remove the cooked meatballs.

Tip:

To save time, you can make extra meatballs in advance and store them in the freezer for future use.

Taro is a light purple root vegetable is grown in at least 65 countries around the world, but flourishes in Taiwan because of its warm, humid climate. The starchy root of the taro plant is a common ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. This recipe is an easy-to-prepare, filling entree that pairs savory pan-fried taro root with soft rice noodles.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan. Add taro and pan fry each side for about 2 to 3 minutes on medium-low head. Then add the dried shrimp and stir fry for an additional minute.
2. Add chicken broth, water and fried soybean curd to the saucepan, as well as pork strips if desired. Heat the saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil.
3. Add rice noodles to the saucepan as well as salt to taste. Cook uncovered on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Optional – If you decide to include fish fillet pieces, add these now to the mixture and bring the contents of the saucepan to a boil again.
5. Garnish with fried shallots and white pepper. Remove from heat.

What does taro look like?

Taro root is thick, rounded and light purple in color. Here are the two pieces of taro root I used for this recipe.

Where can I buy rice noodles?

Thick rice noodles are available in most Asian grocery stores, but you can also buy them online, though they may be thinner than what I used. This is what a typical package of rice noodles looks like.

What is fried soybean curd?
Fried soybean curd is the fried version of the soft, cheese-like food made by curdling fresh hot soymilk with a coagulant. This is what a package of fried soybean curd looks like.