Book of Days Tales

The last Sunday in August is grandparents’ day in Taiwan.  What could be better to celebrate the day than the national dish of Taiwan – spicy beef noodle soup? Note that this recipe is close to the way I usually cook – that is, add ingredients according to your tastes rather than following a recipe to the letter. 

Ingredients

2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, or more as needed
8 cups water, or more as needed
2 cups rich beef broth
1 bunch green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup soy sauce
½ cup rice wine
¼ cup brown sugar
10 cloves garlic, peeled, or more to taste
4 small chile peppers, halved and seeded, or more to taste
2 Tbsp chile paste, or to taste
1 ½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 5 pieces
3 star anise pods, or more to taste
1 tsp five-spice powder
4 small heads baby bok choy
1 (10 oz) package udon noodles
1 Tbsp chopped pickled mustard greens, or to taste

Instructions

Place the beef in a stockpot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and drain.

Pour the vegetable oil into the stock pot with the beef and add 8 cups water, broth, green onions, soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, garlic, chile peppers, chile paste, ginger, star anise, and five-spice powder. Bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook over low heat for 3 to 4 hours (until the beef is very tender).

Transfer the beef to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Strain the broth into a bowl, discard the solids, and return the broth and beef to the stockpot to keep warm.

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add bok choy and cook for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water. Drain, then roughly chop.

Add udon noodles to a separate pot of boiling water and cook until tender yet firm to the bite, about 4 minutes. Drain.

Divide the noodles among serving bowls and top with the beef, bok choy, and hot broth. Garnish with mustard greens.