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Wikipedia
Beef noodle soup is a Chinese noodle soup made of stewed beef, beef broth, vegetables and Chinese noodles. It exists in various forms throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. It was created by the Hui people (a Chinese Muslim ethnic group) during the Tang Dynasty of China. In the West, this food may be served in a small portion as a soup. In China, a large bowl of it is often taken as a whole meal with or without any side dish. In Taiwan, vendors that sell beef noodle may also have optional, often cold side dishes, such as braised dried tofu, seaweed, or pork intestine. Beef noodles is often served with suan cai (Chinese sauerkraut) on top, green onion, and sometimes other vegetables in the soup as well. In Chinese, "牛肉麵" literally means "beef noodles". If one orders "牛肉湯麵" or "beef soup noodles" in a restaurant in Taiwan, Mainland China, or Hong Kong, they might be given a very inexpensive bowl of noodles in only beef broth but no beef. If one orders a "牛肉湯" or "beef-soup", they could be given a more expensive bowl of beef broth with chunks of beef in it but without noodles.
Ingredients
1 |
Beef Neck (I love this cut but it's difficult to find - you can use many different types of beef, it depends on if you want to make the broth from scratch - IF you do, you MUST have bones on your meat. I've used short ribs and these work well but are more greasy and beef neck has a nicer shred in my opinion. If you are going to sidestep the 3-4 hours of cooking beef broth properly then you can buy some beef broth cubes or broth in a box or can and just buy a cut such as sirloin, skirt steak, etc, slice thin and add towards the end so it doesn't overcook and get chewy) |
2 |
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3 |
Thai basil (it is more aromatic - but you can use sweet Italian as a substitute); fresh bean sprouts |
4 |
Morning glory (aka. water spinach) or pak kana (aka. Chinese broccoli) |
5 |
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6 |
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7 |
Cinnamon bark |
8 |
Thick sweet soy sauce (you can use regular soy sauce if you don't have this) |
9 |
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10 |
Fish sauce (aka. nam pla) |
11 |
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12 |
Dry or fresh rice noodles (the thickness depends on your taste - I like sen lek which is the middle thickness (less than a fettucini and more than the thin string noodles) |
Preparation
Step 1 |
Put beef neck (approximately 3-4 lbs depending on how many you will be cooking for but this will provide at least 8 hearty bowls of broth and beef with your noodles), in a big stock pot, covered in water. |
Step 2 |
Add star anise (2-3 is sufficient, less if you don't like the taste of anise), 1 cinnamon bark (small size is fine), white pepper (1 tspn, you can add more to taste later), 1 tbspn of thick sweet soy sauce (if you use regular soy sauce, add 1 tbspn sugar). |
Step 3 |
Bring to a rolling boil and let it simmer for a longgggg time (depending on how fresh the meat is) it should take about 2-3 hrs for the meat to begin to fall off the bone). |
Step 4 |
Once it's cooked a while add some fish sauce to taste (at least 1 tbspn if not more). |
Step 5 |
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Step 6 |
Slice up some shallots into thin half moons; slice up limes (NOT lemons which are yellow in color and much too sweet); wash the basil and leave on the stems; wash the bean sprouts. |
Step 7 |
Coarsely mince up some garlic and fry in vegetable oil so it's crispy then leave to the side in a small dish. |
Step 8 |
Make a small dish of prik nam pla with dried chile powder and fish sauce so you have a nice chile sauce for those that want more salt/more chili in their soup. |
Step 9 |
Cook the noodles for as long as the type you bought says and strain (at this point add the morning glory or chinese broccoli for the last 30 secs with your noodles), then add a small portion to each bowl, add raw bean sprouts on top, pour broth over it with pieces of shredded beef (avoid the star anise and cinnamon bark), serve to each person and have the following on the side to add as you individually please: |
Step 10 |
Basil, lime, prik nam pla, crispy garlic, shallots |
Tools
Knife
About Thai Beef Noodle Soup
This is a version of Thai Beef Noodle Soup with all the essence/origins intact, save for the cut of beef you choose to use and what is available to you. From a Chinese medicinal cooking perspective this recipe is good for you if you are having trouble with your digestion and are experiencing excessive diarrhea or stomach cramps due to cold foods; it is also very good for those that are anemic, post partum, post menses, post surgergy where there has been blood loss. Here is the link to more information on this recipe: http://thespicedoc.blogspot.com/2009/04/thai-boat-noodles-beef-noodle-soup.html
