Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

If you like Asian noodle soups, you will likely love Taiwanese beef noodle soup. It is a simple yet iconic dish that features a slightly spicy broth, tender chunks of beef, noodles, and a handful of fresh vegetables. This dish is also much easier to prepare if you have an Instant Pot, the popular pot that is a pressure cooker and slow cooker (and more) all in one. It is a useful pot, and it was precisely for this recipe that I bought it.

A few important notes. First, make sure to use beef shank. This is the required cut of beef for Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Next, several of the Asian ingredients listed here (e.g. spicy bean paste, pickled mustard greens, Shaoxing cooking wine) may not be easily found in common supermarkets, unless you live near Asian markets and are savvy finding your way around inside of one. Amazon will be your best friend here. Finally, it is best to use a pre-made spice packet/satchel -- such as this one from Amazon -- otherwise you will waste a lot of time making one yourself. I came across this recipe on The Woks of Life.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef shank, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons oil
• A 2-inch piece of ginger (smashed)
• 6 cloves garlic (smashed)
• 3 scallions, cut into 2-inch segments
• 1 onion, cut into wedges
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges
• 4 dried chilies ripped in half
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons spicy bean paste douban jiang
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup Shaoxing cooking wine
• 1 Chinese aromatic herb packet (lu bao)
• 32 ounces (900 g) fresh wheat (white) noodles
• A small handful of bok choy for each serving
• Cilantro, finely chopped
• Scallions, finely chopped
• Pickled mustard greens

Instructions

1. Boil enough water in a pot to boil all of your beef. Once the water is boiling, add the beef. Let it come back up to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Strain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with fresh water to remove any impurities.
2. Next, turn on your Instant Pot to the saute setting. Add the oil, crushed ginger, garlic, scallions, and onions in that order. Stir to lightly caramelize. Let the onion turn translucent. 
3. Add the tomato and dried chilies. Next, add the meat to the pot. 
4. Then add the tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour 8 cups of water into the Instant Pot. Add the spice packet. The instant pot should be filled to the 10-cup line; it shouldn’t be more than ⅔ of the way full per safety instructions. 
6. Close the lid of the Instant Pot, and make sure you have your vent set so it is not venting. Cook for 100 minutes on the aromatic meat stew setting. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can use a regular pot on the stove, but instead, cook the soup on a low simmer for 3-4 hours.
7. When the Instant Pot timer is up, carefully release the pressure valve (wear an oven mitt, so you don’t scald yourself!) 
8. Boil some noodles per package instructions, and in the last minute or two of the noodles cooking, throw your bok choy in and blanch until just tender.
9. Serve each bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup with a serving of noodles, a few stalks of bok choy, and generous sprinklings of finely minced cilantro, and Chinese pickled mustard greens. 

Serves 6-8