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Soup season · Taipei, Taiwan
The best bowl in Taipei: Beef noodle soup
Taiwan's national dish: braised beef shank and tendon in a dark, spiced broth with thick wheat noodles and pickled mustard greens.
Taipei holds a beef noodle festival every year, and it's the city's comfort bowl. Lin Dong Fang's version, with a jar of beef-fat chile oil on every table, is the one Taipei eats late at night.
Lin Dong Fang
Bade Road Section 2, Zhongshan District, Taipei
Get: The half-tendon, half-beef noodle soup (半筋半肉麵), with a spoonful of the house chile oil
半筋半肉麵，一碗，謝謝。(Ban jin ban rou mian, yi wan, xiexie.)One half-tendon, half-beef noodle soup, thank you.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand shop that's open into the night; its lighter, clear-style broth and the beef-butter chile oil made it a Taipei legend. Cash only.
Open from late morning into the early hours; lines at lunch.
Make it at home
Taiwanese red-braised beef noodle soup
Beef shank turns gelatinous and tender in a broth built on doubanjiang, soy, tomato and star anise. Make it a day ahead if you can: it's better, and the fat is easy to lift off.
You need
- 3 lb (1.4 kg) bone-in beef shank (or boneless shank plus 1 lb beef bones), cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 6 slices ginger, 8 garlic cloves smashed, 4 scallions cut in lengths, 1 onion quartered
- 3 tbsp spicy doubanjiang (chili bean paste)
- 2 tomatoes, quartered, and 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) Shaoxing wine
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) light soy sauce and 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rock sugar or brown sugar
- Spices: 3 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, 1 tsp fennel seed (tied in cheesecloth)
- 10 cups (2.4 l) water
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) thick fresh wheat noodles
- To serve: baby bok choy, pickled mustard greens (suan cai) chopped, sliced scallions, cilantro, chili oil
How to make it
- Put the beef in cold water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse well. This keeps the broth clean.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Fry the ginger, garlic, scallions and onion 3 minutes until fragrant and lightly browned.
- Add the doubanjiang and tomato paste and fry 1 minute until the oil turns red. Add the tomatoes and the beef and toss 2 minutes.
- Add the wine, both soy sauces and sugar and cook 2 minutes. Add the spice bag and the water. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer, partly covered, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the beef is very tender.
- Remove the spice bag and aromatics. Skim the fat. Taste and season: it should be rich, savory and gently spicy.
- Boil the noodles in a separate pot according to the package (usually 4 to 6 minutes), adding the bok choy in the last minute. Drain.
- Divide the noodles and bok choy among large bowls, add several chunks of beef and ladle over plenty of broth.
- Top with pickled mustard greens, scallions and cilantro, with chili oil at the table.
Pans and tools
- Large heavy pot (at least 7 quarts)
- Cheesecloth and string
- Second pot for noodles
Chef's tips
- Shank with tendon gives the best texture; ask a Chinese butcher.
- Cook the noodles separately; cooked in the broth they make it starchy.
- The broth freezes well for quick bowls later.
Four more bowls in Taipei
Oyster vermicelli
Thin rice vermicelli in a thick, bonito-rich broth with intestines (or oysters), garlic, cilantro and black vinegar.
Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle · No. 8-1, Emei St, Wanhua District, Taipei
Get: A large bowl with intestine, eaten standing in the street, with chili and vinegar
大腸麵線一碗 (da chang mian xian yi wan).One bowl of intestine vermicelli.
A standing-only Ximending stall since 1975, the city's most famous bowl of mian xian.
Make it at home: Taiwanese oyster vermicelli
The red 'mian xian' noodles are steamed until brown and stay soft without breaking up. Ay-Chung uses intestine; oysters are the other classic.
You need
- 6 cups (1.4 l) chicken or pork stock
- 1/2 cup (10 g) bonito flakes
- 4 dried shiitake, soaked and shredded
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sugar
- 6 oz (170 g) red (brown) wheat vermicelli (hong mian xian), broken in short pieces
- 1/2 lb (225 g) shucked oysters, tossed with 1 tbsp sweet potato starch
- 4 tbsp sweet potato starch or cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 4 garlic cloves, minced and mixed with 2 tbsp water
- Black vinegar, chili sauce, cilantro
How to make it
- Simmer the stock with the bonito 10 minutes and strain. Add the shiitake, soy, wine and sugar.
- Rinse the vermicelli and add to the broth; simmer 10 minutes, until soft.
- Stir in the starch slurry until thick.
- Blanch the starch-coated oysters in boiling water 1 minute and add to the pot.
- Serve with garlic water, black vinegar, chili and cilantro.
Chef's tips
- White somen will work but turns mushy faster.
Herbal pork rib soup
Pork ribs simmered with more than ten Chinese herbs into a dark, sweet, warming broth.
Chen Tung Pork Ribs Medicinal Herbs Soup · No. 160, Raohe St, Songshan District, Taipei
Get: Herbal pork ribs, and the lamb version too
藥燉排骨一碗 (yao dun pai gu yi wan).One herbal pork rib soup.
Said to be the first stall on Raohe Street to sell herbal pork ribs; Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Evenings, from about 3pm to midnight.
Make it at home: Herbal pork rib soup
Chinese pharmacies and Asian groceries sell yao dun herb packs; buying the pack is how most Taiwanese cooks do it.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) pork ribs, cut short
- 1 herb pack for yao dun pai gu, or: 3 slices dang gui (angelica), 1 tbsp goji berries, 4 jujubes, 2 tbsp dang shen, 3 slices chuan xiong, 2 slices shu di huang, 1 small cinnamon stick
- 2 quarts (1.9 l) water
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) rice wine
- 1 tsp salt
How to make it
- Blanch the ribs 5 minutes and rinse.
- Put the ribs, herbs (except goji), water and rice wine in a pot.
- Simmer covered 1 1/2 hours.
- Add the goji berries for the last 10 minutes and season with salt.
Chef's tips
- A clay pot or slow cooker on low for 4 hours makes it even deeper.
Sesame oil chicken soup
Chicken fried in dark sesame oil with lots of ginger, then cooked in rice wine: Taiwan's winter warmer.
A Nan Sesame Oil Chicken · Nanjichang Night Market, Zhonghua Rd Sec 2, Zhongzheng District, Taipei
Get: Sesame oil chicken, and the kidney version if you like offal
麻油雞一碗 (ma you ji yi wan).One sesame oil chicken.
A Michelin-listed night market stall with long winter queues.
Evenings, about 5pm to 10pm; busiest in winter.
Make it at home: Ma you ji (sesame oil chicken soup)
Toasted (black) sesame oil and a lot of ginger are the dish. Taiwanese cooks use all rice wine and no water; half and half is gentler.
You need
- 2 lb (900 g) chicken thighs on the bone, chopped
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) toasted black sesame oil
- 4 in (10 cm) ginger, sliced thin, skin on
- 3 cups (720 ml) rice wine (mi jiu) or Shaoxing
- 2 cups (480 ml) water
- 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste
- A handful of goji berries (optional)
- Thin rice noodles or rice, to serve
How to make it
- Heat the sesame oil over low heat and fry the ginger slowly 8 minutes, until it curls and browns at the edges.
- Turn up the heat, add the chicken and stir-fry 5 minutes.
- Add the rice wine and boil 3 minutes, then the water and sugar.
- Simmer covered 25 minutes. Add the goji for the last 5 minutes and season.
- Serve with noodles or rice.
Chef's tips
- Keep the heat low for the ginger; burnt sesame oil turns bitter.
Danzai noodles
A small bowl of noodles in shrimp-head broth with braised pork, a shrimp and a dab of garlic: Tainan's 'slack season' noodles.
Du Hsiao Yueh · Yongkang St, Da'an District, Taipei
Get: Danzai noodles with a braised egg, and order two bowls
擔仔麵 (dan zai mian).Danzai noodles.
The Tainan family brand that started selling danzai noodles from a shoulder pole in 1895.
Make it at home: Danzai noodles
Small bowls, big flavor: shrimp broth and sweet braised pork sauce.
You need
- For the pork sauce: 1/2 lb (225 g) ground pork, 2 tbsp fried shallots, 2 tbsp soy, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp sugar, 1 star anise, 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- Heads and shells of 12 shrimp, plus the 12 shrimp, peeled
- 6 cups (1.4 l) pork or chicken stock
- 1 tbsp fish sauce, salt
- 1 lb (450 g) yellow alkaline noodles
- Bean sprouts, cilantro, garlic paste (2 garlic cloves pounded with a little water), black vinegar
How to make it
- Brown the pork, add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer 45 minutes, until thick and glossy.
- Fry the shrimp shells and heads in a little oil 5 minutes, add the stock and simmer 20 minutes; strain and season with fish sauce.
- Poach the shrimp in the broth 2 minutes.
- Blanch the noodles and bean sprouts in small portions and put into small bowls.
- Pour over the broth, add a spoon of pork sauce, a shrimp, cilantro and a dab of garlic paste; vinegar to taste.
Chef's tips
- Serve in small bowls; it's a snack, often eaten two at a time.
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No. 1 checked October 28, 2026; the other four picked the same day from local guides and menus. Places change; if one has, tell us at hello@chefamazing.com.
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