No one asked for it but here’s my recipe for Taiwanese style beef noodle soup. What’s your favorite kind and any secret recipes? I eventually want to tweak this to taste more like Dai Ho in tha SGV for all my angelenos.
Amounts are approximate to make one homesize stock pot, about 6-10 meal portions.
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5 lbs prime brisket ($3/lb at costco)…can also be beef shank cubed up + beef bones to fortify broth.
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1 white onion, thick slices
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1 bunch green onion, inch long rough cut
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6-8 cloves garlic, smashed
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2 thick slices ginger
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3 TBSP hot doubanjiang. I prefer Lian How Brand.
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star anise, 5 pieces in a cheesecloth satchel
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soy sauce to taste
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salt
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MSG
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2 lbs or a couple carrots, roll cut.
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4 tbsp tomato paste
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3-4 each shitty tomatoes
I gave in and bought the whole brisket at costco, trimmed the fat and rendered it. Just cube up the trimmed fat, and boil it slowly in saucepan with two cups water until all the water is evaporated, add water as needed. Strain solids when all water is evaporated or fat looks clear and not opaque and the fat is frying like bacon.
Cut the onions, green onions and ginger willy nilly, doesnt matter how that much, just expose more surface area.
Use rendered beef fat and fry the alliums until they start to brown at the edges and a fond develops.
I cut the brisket into 1-1.5lb chunks, intending to boil it as is and cool and slice thinly later.
In a separate pot, parboil the meat until a scum develops on surface then thoroughly wash with cold water.
In that other pot with the alliums, first deglaze with a little soy sauce. Then throw in the doubanjiang, and tomato paste and just hot it up a little. You’re not looking for any sort of caramelization or anything like that, just sizzle it a little and then you’re ready for the beef.
Put the beef in the pot. Fill water to top. Cut up the tomatos and add em to pot.
Boil for at least 3 hours or until beef is tender. Add the carrots in the last hour so they lend their sweetness but don’t get too mushy.
Season with soy sauce, I usually use a mix of light and dark. Light for taste and dark to get that deep color. I really like Kimlan brand light and dark. Pearl River Light is good also but Pearl River dark is a little too caramel plastic flavored for me. Try not to use Kikkoman as it’s just a hair acidic for this.
I like mine a little spicy so when I heat up a small portion for a bowl, I’ll throw in a couple dried arbol chiles but I usually don’t like putting them in the stock because its inconsistently spicy and I have eaten many a too fuckin spicy bowl of soup.
That’s about it. Near the end I’ll season with soy sauce to taste, but I don’t want it to taste like soy sauce water so I’ll underseason it and finish with salt and msg. A tiny bit of white sugar to round out the acid.
Optional: Remove beef, strain soup. Cool beef and slice thinly before serving.
Garnishes: aa choy, green onion, chili oil/