Beef noodle soup

This is the recipe that started it all.

In this cold weather, I find so much comfort in cooking this delicious and addictive bowl of beef noodle soup. There are so many different cultures that make this dish in so many varied ways, but what I love about it is just that no matter how you make it, it is a dish full of effort, time, and love! In that way, I strive to approach life in the same way that I make this soup.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of beef shank
• 1 yellow onion, sliced or diced
• 2 tomatoes, eighth-ed
• 1 head of garlic, smashed
• 1 full piece of ginger, sliced into very thin slices
• 6 star anises
• 6 dried chili peppers
• 6 stalks of green onions, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons of spicy doubanjan
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar (or rock sugar)
• 2 tablespoons of oil for cooking
• 2/3 cups of dark soy sauce
• 1/3 cup of light soy sauce
• 2/3 cups of rice wine
• 6 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons of black pepper
• Noodles (go with the any kind that you really like)
• 6 stalks of bok choy, washed and boiled
• Green onions for garnish

Tips:

• If you and your family don’t like things spicy, you can substitute the spicy doubanjan with regular doubanjan.
• Peeling the tomato beforehand will make your soup peel-free. Gives this dish a nice touch!
• This dish is not a quick one and best done over the course of one whole day in a therapeutic fashion. 🙂

How to serve:

• You’ll put the noodles in a bowl with the boiled bok choy and then pour the beef soup with pieces of beef into the soup.
  

Directions:

• Put the shanks, 2 stalks of chopped green onions, 2 star anises, and the beef shanks in a large pot of water and bring to boil. Cook for 7 minutes.
• Put the shanks into an ice water bath and then take them out. Slice them into slightly less than 1-inch thick pieces and set them aside.
• Chop the onions, tomato and place them into separate bowls.
• Chop the garlic, ginger and the rest of the green onions and put them into a bowl with the rest of the star anises, dried chili peppers.
• Heat the pan up with oil and put in the doubanjang; stir fry until fragrant.
• Put in the contents of the bowl; stir fry for a 3-4 minutes on medium/low heat.
• Add the onions and stirfry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Place the beef into the pan and put in the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, along with the rice wine and the sugar; stir fry for 3-4 minutes on medium/low heat.
• Add tomatoes and cook for 7 minutes on medium/low heat.
• Prepare a large pot and pour the contents into it, then pour enough water into the pot so that the water is about 2 inches above all of the contents.
• Cook forever (just kidding, minimum 2 hours, but 4-5 is better)
• While cooking, make sure to maintain a slow simmer.
• When it’s time to serve, prepare the noodles and the bok choy and put them into the bowls.
• Carefully use tongs to put two pieces of beef shank in each bowl and then pour the soup into each bowl.
• Chop up some green onions diagonally and garnish each bowl.
• Ready to serve.