The best bowl in Berlin: Soljanka

Serves 6 · 4 hr 30 min

A clear, fragrant beef broth simmered for hours with charred onion, ginger and warm spices, poured over rice noodles and paper-thin raw beef. Inspired by the beef noodle soup at Le Colonial in Houston.

You need

• 2 lb (900 g) beef oxtail, cut in sections
• 2 lb (900 g) beef marrow or knuckle bones
• 2 medium yellow onions (about 1 lb), halved and left unpeeled
• 4-inch piece fresh ginger (about 3 oz), halved lengthwise
• 3 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 5 quarts (4.7 liters) cold water, plus more for parboiling
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 lb (450 g) dried flat rice noodles (banh pho)
• 8 oz (225 g) beef tenderloin, trimmed and sliced paper thin
• 1 small white onion, very thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 3 limes, cut into wedges
• Hoisin sauce and sriracha for the table (3 tablespoons each)

How to make it

1. Put the oxtail and bones in the stockpot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil hard for 10 minutes while gray scum rises, then drain and rinse every piece under cold water. Scrub out the pot.
2. Heat the broiler with a rack 4 inches from the element. Broil the onion halves and ginger on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, turning once, until blackened in spots and soft. Cool, peel off the loose skin, and rinse.
3. Toast the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and fennel in the dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Tie them into cheesecloth.
4. Return the bones to the clean pot with the 5 quarts cold water, charred onion, ginger and the spice bundle. Bring to a boil over high heat, about 20 minutes, skimming off foam.
5. Reduce the heat to low so the surface barely trembles. Simmer partly covered for 3 hours, skimming now and then, and lift out the spice bundle after the first hour so it does not turn bitter.
6. Lift the oxtail onto a plate. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones in large pieces and set aside, returning the bones to the pot.
7. Strain the broth through the fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, pressing lightly. Skim fat from the top with a ladle, then stir in the fish sauce, salt and sugar and taste, adding fish sauce until savory with a slight sweetness. Keep at a bare simmer.
8. About 40 minutes before serving, wrap the beef tenderloin and freeze it for 20 minutes to firm it up. Soak the dried noodles in warm tap water for 30 minutes, until pliable and white.
9. Slice the chilled beef against the grain as thin as paper. Arrange the sliced onion, scallions, sprouts, basil, cilantro, jalapeno and lime wedges on a platter.
10. Boil a large pot of water and cook the soaked noodles for 1 to 2 minutes, until tender but still springy. Drain and divide among 6 large bowls, then lay the shredded oxtail and raw beef slices on top.
11. Bring the broth to a rolling boil, then ladle at least 1 1/2 cups over each bowl; the heat cooks the raw beef to a blush pink within a minute. Serve with the garnish platter, hoisin and sriracha.

Pans and tools

• 12-quart stockpot
• rimmed baking sheet
• dry skillet
• fine-mesh strainer
• cheesecloth or tea ball for spices
• large pot for noodles
• sharp slicing knife
• instant-read thermometer

Chef's tips

• Common mistake: boiling the broth hard, which turns it cloudy. Keep it at a bare simmer and skim.
• Make-ahead: the broth keeps 5 days refrigerated or 3 months frozen. The fat that hardens on top is easy to lift off.
• Reheat the broth to a full boil before serving or the raw beef will not cook.
• Swap: use beef shank or short rib for part of the oxtail, and gluten-free tamari-free hoisin is optional at the table.

Contains: fish, soy, wheat.

From The Best 100: our home version, inspired by Le Colonial, Houston. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 4 · 12 hr (mostly simmering) · Weekend project

Tonkotsu is pork bones boiled hard, not simmered, until the fat and collagen emulsify and the broth goes white. It takes a day, but it's mostly waiting.

You need

• 4 lb (1.8 kg) pork trotters and neck bones, cut by the butcher
• 1 lb (450 g) chicken backs
• 1 onion, halved, 1 head garlic, halved, 2-inch (5 cm) ginger, sliced
• 4 scallions, white parts
• For the tare: 1/2 cup (120 ml) soy sauce, 1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tsp salt
• 1 lb (450 g) pork belly, rolled and tied
• 4 eggs
• 4 portions (about 1 lb / 450 g) thin fresh ramen noodles
• To serve: sliced scallions, nori, bean sprouts, pickled ginger, sesame seeds

How to make it

1. Cover the bones with cold water, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes, drain and scrub off the grey scum. Clean the pot.
2. Return the bones with fresh water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Boil hard, lid off, 10 to 12 hours, topping up with boiling water to keep the bones covered. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and scallions for the last hour. Strain: you want about 2 quarts (1.9 l) of white broth.
3. Meanwhile, braise the pork belly in the tare plus 1 cup (240 ml) water, covered, at a low simmer for 2 hours, turning now and then. Cool, slice thin, and keep the braising liquid.
4. Boil the eggs 6 1/2 minutes, chill in ice water, peel and soak in 1/2 cup of the braising liquid for at least 4 hours.
5. Put 2 tbsp braising liquid in each warm bowl. Cook the noodles 1 minute less than the packet says, drain well and add. Ladle 2 cups of boiling broth over each, then top with pork, a halved egg, scallions and nori.

Chef's tips

• A pressure cooker gets the broth white in about 2 hours on high.
• Taste the broth with the tare in it before adding salt; the tare is the seasoning.

Contains: wheat, soy, egg, sesame.

Our recipe, the same one we give for tonkotsu ramen in Amsterdam. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 2 hr · Easy

Berliners eat it thick, with mustard and a bread roll. Marjoram is the one herb that matters.

You need

• 1 lb (450 g) yellow split peas, rinsed
• 8 oz (225 g) smoked pork belly or slab bacon, in one piece
• 2 1/2 quarts (2.4 l) water or ham stock
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/4 celery root (about 6 oz / 170 g), diced
• 1 leek, sliced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 6 Bockwurst or frankfurters
• Salt, black pepper, mustard to serve

How to make it

1. Put the peas, pork belly and water in a pot, bring to a boil, skim, and simmer 1 hour, stirring often so nothing sticks.
2. Add the onion, carrots, celery root, leek and potatoes. Simmer 40 minutes, until the peas have collapsed.
3. Lift out the pork, dice it and return it. Mash the soup a little for a thicker texture.
4. Stir in the marjoram and season. Lay the sausages in the soup for 8 minutes to heat through (don't boil them, or they split).
5. Serve each bowl with a sausage, mustard on the side and a roll.

Chef's tips

• Soak the peas 2 hours if they're old; they'll soften faster.

Contains: mustard.

Chef Amazing's own recipe, written for a home kitchen. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 2 hr · Easy

Equal weights of onion and beef, and paprika added off the heat so it doesn't burn and turn bitter.

You need

• 2 lb (900 g) beef chuck, in 3/4-inch (2 cm) cubes
• 3 tbsp lard or oil
• 2 lb (900 g) onions, sliced
• 3 tbsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp hot paprika
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed with 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp dried marjoram, zest of 1/2 lemon
• 2 quarts (1.9 l) beef stock
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 1 lb (450 g) potatoes, diced
• Salt, a splash of red wine vinegar

How to make it

1. Heat the lard in a heavy pot and cook the onions over medium heat 20 minutes, until golden.
2. Add the beef and cook 10 minutes, stirring, until it loses its color. Take the pot off the heat and stir in both paprikas and the tomato paste.
3. Return to the heat with the garlic-caraway, marjoram, lemon zest and stock. Simmer, covered, 1 hour.
4. Add the peppers and potatoes and simmer 30 minutes, until the beef is tender.
5. Season with salt and a little vinegar and serve with bread.

Chef's tips

• Like every stew, it's better the next day.

Chef Amazing's own recipe, written for a home kitchen. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.