Beef Noodle Soup: from Sichuan, to Taiwan, and back
Beef noodle soup! In this video we'll show you the Sichuan style, touch on the Taiwan style, and talk a bit about how that soup ended up circling back to the mainland.
0:00 - Introduction
0:24 - How Beef Noodle Soup got to Taiwan
1:28 - Why don't we cover Taiwan food?
2:02 - Taiwan Noodle Soup Journeys Back to the Mainland
3:02 - How to Make Sichuan-style Red Braised Beef
6:35 - Introduction to the Sichuan Noodle shop style
7:07 - Sichuan-style Component 1, Pork Stock
8:23 - Sichuan-style Component 2, Toasted Chili Oil
10:19 - Sichuan-style Component 3, Stewed Peas
11:47 - Sichuan-style Component 4, Fresh Alkaline Noodles
13:19 - Assembling the Sichuan Noodle shop Style
14:12 - The Instant Noodle Version
16:23 - The use of stock?
VIDEOS WE ENJOYED RE THE TAIWAN STYLE
Cate Food Travel had a fantastic video of a beef noodle soup shop in Taiwan:
Taiwan Duck (really cute channel) had a nice video if you were looking for more of a recipe video:
SICHUAN RED BRAISED BEEF
* Water, ~2L
* Aromatics for the poaching liquid: ginger (姜), ~2 inches, smashed; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp; scallions, ~3, tied in a knot
* Beef brisket (牛腩), 700g
* Red Oil Chili Bean Paste, Pixian Doubanjiang (红油郫县豆瓣酱), 4 tbsp
* Oil to fry the bean paste, 6 tbsp
* Seasoning for the braise: soy sauce (生抽), 2 tbsp; dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tsp; salt, 1 tsp
* Spices for the braise: Sichuan peppercorns (花椒), 1/2 tbsp; star anise (八角), 2; cloves (丁香), 6; dried sand ginger (沙姜), 8 psc; white cardamom (白蔻), 4; Tsaoko a.k.a. Chinese black cardamom (草果), 1
Process at 3:30. TL;DW: poach the beef for 5 minutes, then let it cool. Slice, then fry til browned. Fry the minced chili bean paste on low to stain the oil, and quickly fry the beef with it. Add the beef and red oil back to the pot together with the seasoning and spices. Simmer for 90 minutes.
NOODLE SHOP STYLE COMPONENT #1: PORK BONE STOCK
* Pork bones (猪骨), 350g (with some meat still attached)
* Aromatics for the stock: ginger (姜), ~1 inches, smashed; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), ~1 tbsp; scallions, ~1, tied in a knot
Process at 7:16. TL;DW: Blanch the pork bones in water together with a slug of Shaoxing. Remove, then to a new pot of ~2.5L of water add the blanched pork together with the aromatics for the stock. Simmer covered for three hours.
NOODLE SHOP STYLE COMPONENT #2: TOASTED CHILI OIL
* Dried chilis, 50g (we used Sichuan erjingtiao, 二荆条)
* Oil, 150g (or 3/4 of a cup). We used Caiziyou (Chinese rapeseed oil), but you can also use Indian mustard seed oil or peanut oil
* Aromatics for the oil: Ginger, ~1 inch, smashed; Onion (洋葱), ~1/4 of an onion, sliced
* Spices for the oil (optional but recommended): Cinnamon (桂皮), ½ stick; Star Anise (八角), 1; Fennel Seed (小茴香), ¼ tsp
Process at 8:36. TL;DW: Slice, then toast the chilis until brittle. Shake over a strainer to get out some of the excess seeds, then pound into a coarse powder. Heat your oil up to smoke point, let it cool down a bit, then fry the aromatics until golden brown. Add the spices, fry for a minute, then strain. Heat the oil til it bubbles around some chopsticks (~150C), then add in the chili flakes and shut off the heat.
NOODLE SHOP STYLE COMPONENT #3: STEWED PEAS
* Yellow split peas (黄豌豆), preferably whole, 100g
* Baking soda (小苏打), 1/4 tsp - if using whole split peas
Process at 10:45
NOODLE SHOP STYLE COMPONENT #4: FRESH ALKALINE NOODLES
* AP Flour (中筋面粉), 200g
* Salt, 1/2 tsp
* Sodium carbonate (碱面) -or- kansui (枧水), 1/2 tsp
* Water, 90g
Process at 11:56.
NOODLE SHOP STYLE: ASSEMBLY
* Fresh noodles, 150g (or ~100g dried noodles)
* Seasoning per bowl: salt, 1/4 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp; Sichuan peppercorn powder (花椒粉), 1/2 tsp; soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp, toasted chili oil from above -or- Lao Gan Ma chili crisp (老干妈香辣脆油辣椒), 1 tbsp
* Baby bok choy, ~1, blanched
* Stock, enough to cover everything, ~350mL
* Braised beef, ~3 tbsp; braised beef liquid, ~2 tbsp
* Stewed peas, ~1 tbsp
* Sliced scallions, ~1 tbsp
* Chopped cilantro, ~ 1 tbsp
Process at 13:24
INSTANT NOODLE VERSION
* Dried noodles, 100g (or ~150g fresh noodles) - we used 公仔面
* Seasoning: chicken bouillon powder (鸡粉), 2 tsp; salt, 1/8 tsp; white pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp, onion powder (洋葱粉), 1/16 tsp; garlic powder (大蒜粉), 1/16 tsp; cayenne pepper (辣椒面), 1/16 tsp; MSG (味精), 1/16 tsp
* Baby bok choy, ~1, blanched
* Carrot, ~1 inch knob, julienned and blanched
* Braised beef, ~3 tbsp; braised beef liquid, ~2 tbsp
* Fried egg, 1
* Sliced scallions, ~2 tbsp
Process at 15:50
_____________
Footage of the hilarious instant noodle parody of Bite of China is here:
And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!
Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel):
Easy One Pot Noodle Soup || 15 Min Dinner Recipe
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This ground pork noodle soup is very hearty and healthy. It takes 15 minutes to make, and it serves a whole family. Would you give it a try?
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp of oil
10 cloves of garlic finely minced
1/2 inch of ginger
3 scallions separate the white and green part
1 tbsp of chili flake, can be switched with sweet paprika (Amazon Link -
1.5 tbsp of Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang, can be switched with soybean paste (Amazon Link -
400 grams (14 oz) of ground pork
2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine (Amazon Link -
1 tbsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tbsp of oyster sauce (Amazon Link -
1 tsp of dark soy sauce (Amazon Link -
1/4 cup of water
5-6 servings of noodles (400-500 grams of fresh noodles or 250-300 grams of dried noodles)
5-6 cups of water
1-1.5 tsp of salt
Baby bok choy as needed
Pan fry egg as an extra protein option
INSTRUCTIONS
Add oil, garlic, ginger, the white part of the scallion, Sichuan doubanjiang, and chili flake to the wok. Stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes to activate the Dou Ban Jiang flavor.
Add ground pork and stir over high heat for a few minutes or until cooked through.
Season with Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce, and oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce. Pour in 1/4 cup of water and let it mingle a little bit. Remove the Saozi from the wok and set it aside.
This will taste a lot saltier compare to your preference, that is because this ground pork is a noodle topping, or what we call Saozi (臊子) in Chinese, you are not supposed to eat on its own.
Bring 5 -6 cups of water, if you have stock, that will be even better. I am not washing the wok because I don’t want to waste the flavor.
We will bring this to a boil which will take a few minutes. It should be enough time for you to wash the baby bok choy and cut them open.
The noodles - What I am using here are fresh ramen noodles but you can use other types because I have tried so many, such as egg noodles, rice noodles, mung bean noodles, even instant noodles will work. Depending on the thickness and the brand, the cooking time may variant. If you are not sure, read the instructions on the package before you cook it.
Once the water comes to a boil, throw in 4-5 servings of noodles. Just for reference, it will be 400-500 grams of fresh noodles or 250-300 grams of dried noodles. Add some salt to taste. I used about 1/2 tbsp. My noodles are fresh so they just need a few minutes of simmering, which should be enough time for you to pan-fry some eggs on a different stove. This is optional. Just to add a little extra protein.
I think the noodles are almost done now. Throw in the baby bok choy and let it blanch for just 30 seconds and dinner is ready.
To make a serving, you just put some noodles in a bowl along with the broth. Scoop a few big spoonfuls of minced pork on the top. Put some baby bok choy to balance the flavor. This brings back my childhood memory. When I get an A+ at school, my mom will always make me an extra egg. Sprinkle a little bit of spring onion and enjoy!!
This is a super quick dinner on a limited budget but it is very tasty. We made the ground pork salty and savory so you can gradually mix it into the noodle soup as you are eating it. If you got the time and effort, you can definitely upgrade the broth to chicken stock. When I was little, my family wasn’t that fancy, we just use water.
Videography / Editing by Austin Schargorodski -