Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

Meat with soy sauce

1. For the tastiest beef noodle soup you need the best meat. Tenderloin is ideal, but you can use good-quality meat that is not tough or fatty. In a pinch, trim the meat of membranes, cartilage and connective tissue. The broth will still be good, though the meat in the dish will be a little tougher.

2. Wash and trim the beef tenderloin. Then cut it across the grain into large pieces, like medallions.

   

3. Get the spices ready. Chinese noodles are usually spicy and a little hot. The heat is mild and adjustable, but plenty of aromatic spices is the rule. Chinese dishes use many simple spices and complex blends. Most dishes also include soy sauce, which often replaces salt and gives the dish its characteristic color and flavor.

   

4. In the pot you will cook the soup in, or in a large frying pan, heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil over medium heat: sunflower, olive or corn.

5. Add the whole peeled garlic cloves, half a chili pod and 2-3 pieces of the white part of green onion. Fry for 2-2.5 minutes.

6. Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar (14 g), as Chinese noodle soup has a slightly sweet taste.

   

7. As soon as the sugar blends with the oil and starts to caramelize, lay all the pieces of meat in a single layer. Fry over low heat until lightly browned.

8. Turn the meat over and fry the other side.

9. Add 2 tbsp of dark soy sauce and 50 ml of sweet wine or mirin. The beef with soy sauce should simmer for 4-5 minutes.

   

Broth

1. Put all the spices into a sachet bag or tie them in a piece of clean cloth. There will be a lot of spices: 2-3 bay leaves and 2-3 cardamom pods, a piece of peeled ginger the size of a walnut, 5-6 Sichuan peppercorns and 2-3 allspice berries, a couple of cinnamon sticks, a whole nutmeg, a pinch of anise or fennel seeds, a little dried galangal and 1-2 star anise. Tie the bag tightly.

   

2. If you cooked the meat in a frying pan, transfer it to a pot. Put the bag of spices in there too.

3. Pour in 2 l of water, which is enough for four people. Add 2 tbsp of light soy sauce.

   

4. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours. The broth should barely bubble, never boil hard. The meat will cook through beautifully, turn tender and soak up the flavor and aroma of the broth. This process is really closer to braising than to boiling.

   If you like, add the second half of the chili to the broth. It adds heat, though it will not make the soup too fiery. This is optional.

   

Cabbage and noodles

1. When the beef is cooked, take it out and set it aside for now. Cover it with something so it does not dry out. Remove the bag of spices.

2. Tear the cabbage into fairly large pieces with your fingers. You can use pak choi, also called bok choy. Napa cabbage works in principle, as do a few romaine leaves or any juicy, fleshy cabbage or lettuce leaves.

3. Cook the cabbage briefly in the broth, 2-3 minutes, no more. After that the noodle soup needs no further cooking.

   

4. At the same time, in a separate pot of plain water, cook the Chinese noodles. The cooking time is always on the package. Unlike Italian pasta, Chinese noodles are cooked until completely soft, with not even a hint of firmness.

   

Serving

1. It is convenient to serve the soup in large bowls or round-bottomed dishes.

2. Put the beef cooked with soy sauce in the bowl, divided into walnut-sized pieces. Next to it, put the cooked noodles and cabbage.

   

3. Ladle hot broth into the bowl. The liquid should come a little below the level of the ingredients so that they stay visible.

4. Season with pepper to taste. The soup is spicy enough as it is, so you do not need extra spices. I love spicy food, so I added a little ground chili.

5. Sprinkle the soup with coarsely chopped cilantro.

   

   Serve the soup hot. In China it is customary to eat the noodles and meat with chopsticks and simply drink the broth or eat it with a spoon. During the meal you can top up the broth if any is left. The dish is very aromatic and not very hot, so there is no need to be afraid.