The best bowl in Los Angeles: Soft tofu stew

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 · 4 hr · Medium

Goat is the Jalisco way; beef chuck and short rib work just as well. The meat cooks over broth, and that broth becomes the consomé.

You need

• 4 lb (1.8 kg) goat on the bone, or beef chuck and short ribs
• 4 guajillo chiles and 3 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 chiles de árbol
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp dried oregano, 4 cloves, 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp salt
• Chopped onion, cilantro, lime and corn tortillas, to serve

How to make it

1. Toast the chiles in a dry pan 30 seconds a side, then soak in hot water 15 minutes.
2. Blend the chiles with the garlic, onion, tomatoes, vinegar, spices and 1 cup (240 ml) soaking water until smooth.
3. Rub the meat with salt and half the adobo and leave 1 hour (or overnight).
4. Put the meat in a heavy pot with the bay leaves, the rest of the adobo and 6 cups (1.4 l) water. Cover tightly and cook in a 325°F (165°C) oven 3 hours, until the meat falls from the bone.
5. Lift out the meat and shred it. Skim the fat from the broth (save some for frying tacos) and season: that's the consomé.
6. Serve the meat with a cup of hot consomé, onion, cilantro, lime and tortillas.

Chef's tips

• Dip tortillas in the skimmed red fat and griddle them with meat and cheese for quesabirria.

Contains: none of the major allergens..

Our recipe, the same one we give for goat birria and consomé in Chicago. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.

Serves 6 · 1 hr 30 min

Light, tender matzo balls in a clear chicken broth with carrots, celery and fresh dill. Inspired by the deli bowl, made in a home pot.

You need

• 1 cup (115 g) matzo meal
• 4 large eggs
• 5 tbsp schmaltz or neutral oil, divided (1/4 cup for the batter, 1 tbsp for the vegetables)
• 1/4 cup plain seltzer
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, for the batter
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, divided (2 tbsp in the batter, 2 tbsp for serving)
• 4 quarts water, for cooking the matzo balls
• 1 tbsp kosher salt, for the cooking water
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 medium carrots (about 8 oz), peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 celery ribs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 small yellow onion (about 5 oz), finely diced
• Kosher salt, to taste

How to make it

1. Whisk the eggs, 1/4 cup schmaltz, seltzer, 1 1/2 tsp salt, pepper and 2 tbsp dill in a large bowl until blended.
2. Stir in the matzo meal until no dry spots remain. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, until the batter is thick and scoopable.
3. While it chills, heat the remaining 1 tbsp fat in the 4-quart pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns translucent.
4. Add the broth to the vegetables and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low, cover, and keep at a bare simmer for 15 minutes until the carrots are tender.
5. Bring the 4 quarts of water and 1 tbsp salt to a boil in the 6-quart pot, then lower to a steady simmer.
6. Wet your hands and roll the chilled batter into 12 balls, about 2 tbsp each. Do not pack them tightly, because they will roughly double in size.
7. Slide the balls into the simmering water, cover, and cook for 30 minutes at a gentle simmer. Cut one open to check that it is pale and tender all the way through.
8. Lift the matzo balls out with a slotted spoon and add them to the soup pot. Warm them in the broth over low heat for 5 minutes so they soak up flavor.
9. Taste the broth and add kosher salt as needed. Ladle into bowls with 2 matzo balls each and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tbsp dill.

Pans and tools

• Large mixing bowl
• 6-quart pot with lid
• 4-quart soup pot
• Slotted spoon
• Small cookie scoop or tablespoon

Chef's tips

• Cook the balls in plain salted water, not the soup, or they cloud the broth and soak up its salt.
• Chill the batter and keep the simmer gentle, since a hard boil breaks the balls apart.
• Make the balls up to 2 days ahead and store in broth in the fridge. Reheat gently in the soup.
• For firmer balls, swap the seltzer for broth; for fluffier ones, use very cold seltzer and do not overmix.

Contains: egg, wheat, celery.

From The Best 100: our home version, inspired by Katz's Delicatessen, New York. Saved, it opens in Chef Amazing with a timeline, mise en place and what you already have.