Beef Noodle Soup

My husband ate this soup during his two year mission in Taiwan. I had been putting off the idea of making this soup because it seemed so complicated. However, once I ordered some of the ingredients that I don't keep on hand, it wasn't that hard to put this soup together. And seeing the happy expression on my husband's face was worth the effort!

I made the mistake of mixing the noodles into the soup. Traditionally, you add cooked noodles to a bowl of beef noodle soup. 

Beef Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS:

3 pounds beef shank

2 tablespoons oil

A 2-inch piece of ginger (smashed)

6 cloves garlic (smashed)

3 green onions (cut into 2-inch segments)

1 onion (cut into wedges)

1 tomato (cut into wedges)

4 dried chilies

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons spicy bean paste (called douban jiang)

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup Shaoxing wine

8 cups water (to make the soup broth)

1 Chinese aromatic herb packet (called lu bao)

32 ounces fresh wheat (white) noodles (900g)

A small handful of bok choy for each serving

Cilantro (finely chopped, optional)

HOW TO PREPARE:
In a very large pot, add beef and fill the pot about halfway

with water. Bring to a boil. Spoon off the beef scum from

the top of the water.

Next, in a nonstick skillet, add the oil, crushed ginger,

garlic, green onions, and onions in that order. Stir to lightly

caramelize. Let the onion turn translucent. Add the tomato

and dried chilies.

Next, add the sauteed vegetables to the pot with the beef.

Then add the tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy

sauce, and Shaoxing wine, and mix thoroughly. Add 8

cups of water and the spice packet. Bring to a boil and

then simmer for 3-4 hours. Remove meat and cut into

chunks; discard bones. 

Boil some noodles per package instructions, and in the

last minute or two of the noodles cooking, throw your

bok choy in and blanch until just tender. DO NOT ADD

noodles to the soup. Keep the cooked noodles separate.

Serve each bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup with a

serving of noodles, a few stalks of bok choy, and generous

sprinklings of finely minced cilantro, if desired.