Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds of similar shank meat
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 6 to 8 green onions, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• A 4-inch long piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 4 star anise pods (optional)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional - try either just Sichuan Peppercorn or just ~3 dried chiles)
• 2 to 6 dried hot chiles, broken and seeded
• 1 cup Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Chinese black bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon sorghum syrup or dark honey (optional)
• 2 pounds Chinese wheat noodles
• 4 baby bok choy
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup chopped pickled mustard greens (optional)

Instructions

1. Submerge the shanks in water in a large soup pot. Bring this to a boil and let it roll for a couple minutes. Remove the shanks and toss the water. This process removes some of the scum that floats to the surface, and will make a cleaner tasting, clearer broth.
2. While you are waiting for this to happen, chop all your vegetables. Separate the white parts from the green parts of the green onions. Leave the white parts in large pieces, but finely chop the green parts.
3. Wipe the pot out and heat up the lard or oil over medium high heat. Sauté the white parts of the green onions, the garlic and ginger for about 1 minute. Add the star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and chiles and stir to combine. Return the shanks to the pot.
4. Pour in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sorghum syrup (or honey) and bean sauce, then enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch (plus 2C chicken broth). Bring this to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently until the shanks are tender -- about 2 hours.
5. When the shanks are tender, fish them out. While they are cooling, strain the broth. Pull the meat off the bones and cut it into largish chunks. Discard the bones and any weird, vein-y looking things. Wipe the pot again, then pour in the strained broth and add the shank meat to keep warm. Taste it for salt and add some if needed.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, then add the bok choy. Boil the bok choy for about 2 minutes, then remove. Add the noodles.
7. To serve, when the noodles are done, put some in everyone's bowls. Top with broth and meat, then add some bok choy, the green parts of the chopped green onions, cilantro, and pickled mustard greens. Some people like a bit more heat, so if you have Chinese chile sauce handy, have that at the table.

From: https://honest-food.net/taiwanese-beef-noodle-soup-recipe/

SHANGHAI CAI FAN

SERVES: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup rice
• 1 1/4 cups water (try w/chicken broth w/some salt)
• 1/4 cup salted cured pork (diced, can use thick cut bacon)
• 1 tablespoon pork lard (you can also substitute bacon grease or oil)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger (minced)
• 1/2 lb baby bok choy (225g, washed and finely chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak the rice in 1 1/4 cups water in a clay pot for 45 minutes to an hour. Once soaked, sprinkle on the salted pork and add a tablespoon of grease or oil. Put the pot over medium heat, uncovered, and bring it to a boil.
2. While you wait for rice to boil, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok using medium heat. Add the minced ginger and caramelize a bit. Then add the boy choy, and stir-fry just until wilted. Turn off the heat.
3. Once the pot is boiling, cover the pot, turn the heat down to the lowest setting, and let it simmer for 8 minutes. Now take off the lid and add the cooked bok choy (don't pour in any of the cooking liquid from the bok choy) to the top of the rice and cover again. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve!

Recipe for salted pork: https://thewoksoflife.com/homemade-chinese-salted-pork/

From: https://thewoksoflife.com/shanghai-cai-fan-rice-salted-pork-greens/

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

yield: Makes 4 main-course servings

active time: 40 min

total time: 4 1/2 hr

Ingredients

• 5 cups water
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup Chinese rice wine or medium-dry Sherry
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 (1-inch) cube peeled fresh ginger, smashed
• 1 bunch scallions, white parts smashed with flat side of a large knife and green parts chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 10 fresh cilantro stems plus 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs
• 2 (2-inch-long) pieces Asian dried tangerine peel*
• 4 whole star anise
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 2lbs Beef shank or stew beef
  
• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 ounces)
• 10 ounces dried Chinese wheat noodles* or linguine
• 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
• 4 tablespoons Chinese pickled mustard greens**
• 1 (4-inch-long) fresh red chile (optional), thinly sliced

Preparation

Bring water, soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, ginger, white parts of scallion, garlic, cilantro stems, tangerine peel, star anise, and red pepper flakes to a boil in a 5- to 6-quart pot, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add short ribs and gently simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until meat is very tender but not falling apart, 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours. Let meat stand in cooking liquid, uncovered, 1 hour.

Transfer meat to a cutting board with tongs and discard bones and membranes, then cut meat across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices. 3Pour beef broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a bowl and discard solids. Skim fat from cooking liquid and transfer liquid to a 3-quart saucepan. Add chicken broth and meat and reheat soup over moderately low heat.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of (unsalted) boiling water until tender, about 7 minutes (14 to 15 minutes for linguine). Drain noodles well in a colander and divide among 4 large soup bowls.

Ladle broth over noodles and top with meat, scallion greens, bean sprouts, pickled mustard greens, cilantro sprigs, and red chile (if using).

Adapted from: www.epicurious.com