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The Noodle 100 · make it at home

Taiwanese red-braised beef noodle soup

3 hr (30 min hands-on) · 6 bowls

Taipei's national dish: beef shank braised with chili bean paste, star anise and tomato, served over thick wheat noodles with pickled mustard greens.

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The real one

You need

• 1.5 kg (3 lb) beef shank, in 4 cm (1 1/2 in) chunks (some tendon if you can find it)
• 2 tbsp oil, 6 slices ginger, 6 cloves garlic, 4 scallions, 1 onion in wedges
• 2 tbsp chili bean paste (doubanjiang), 2 tomatoes chopped
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) soy sauce, 2 tbsp dark soy, 2 tbsp rice wine, 1 tbsp rock sugar
• Spice bag: 3 star anise, 1 tsp Sichuan pepper, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 1 piece dried tangerine peel
• 6 portions thick wheat noodles
• To serve: pickled mustard greens (suan cai) chopped and fried with a pinch of sugar, bok choy, scallions, cilantro

How to make it

1. Blanch (10 min): Boil the beef 5 minutes, drain and rinse.
2. Base (10 min): Fry the ginger, garlic, scallions and onion in the oil until golden. Add the chili bean paste and fry 1 minute until the oil turns red, then the tomatoes for 3 minutes.
3. Braise (2 1/2 hr): Add the beef, soy sauces, wine, sugar, spice bag and 3 liters (3 quarts) water. Simmer covered, very low, until the beef is tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Skim the fat off the top (keep some), taste and season.
4. Build (5 min): Cook the noodles and bok choy, put them in bowls, ladle over broth and beef, top with pickled greens, scallions and cilantro.

Tips

• Clear-broth (qing dun) is the other Taipei style: leave out the chili bean paste and dark soy.
• Tendon needs 3 1/2 hours; add it first.

Chef Amazing's own home version, in our words; not any shop's recipe.