Frankie Gaw’s Uncle Jerry’s Taiwanese Noodle Soup

In First Generation: Recipes from my Taiwanese-American Home, from which this recipe is adapted, author Frankie Gaw describes beef noodle soup as “the national dish of Taiwan.” Gaw learned this one from his uncle Jerry, who learned it from his own mother. The broth is wonderfully aromatic — altogether, it’s pure comfort.

READ: “Taiwanese and Taiwanese American culinary traditions shine in three exciting cookbooks”

The recipe calls for either fresh homemade flour noodles (there’s a recipe in Gaw’s book) or store-bought fresh or dried noodles. We tested the recipe with store-bought fresh noodles. Gaw’s original recipe calls for fresh tomatoes in the broth. We tested the recipe in the wintertime, when tomatoes were out of season, and used canned chopped tomatoes instead with an excellent result.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients

2 1/2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil, plus more as needed

2 pounds / 900 grams beef shanks, cut into 2 or 3 pieces

2 yellow onions, diced

3 scallions, green and white parts, chopped

4 garlic cloves, sliced

2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped, or one cup canned diced tomato, with some of the liquid

1 cup / 237 ml Shaoxing wine

1/4 cup / 237 ml soy sauce

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise pod

1 3-inch / 8 cm strip orange zest

5 whole cloves

4 thumb-sized slices ginger

Noodles and toppings

4 baby bok choy, trimmed and left whole

2 pounds fresh or dried Taiwanese noodles

Salt (if needed)

Chopped scallions

Chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Brown the meat: Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 2 1/2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add hte beef and brown on both sides. Remove the beef, set aside and turn the heat down to medium.

2. Add a little more oil to the pot if necessary, then add the onions, scallions and garlic. Sauté until the onions are semi-translucent, stirring occasionally so the onions don’t burn, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes.

3. Stir in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, cinnamon, star anise, orange zest, cloves and ginger, then teturn the browned beef to the pot, along with any collected juices. Add water until it just reaches a little above all the ingredients (about 5 cups). Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat so it’s gently simmering. Cover with a lid but leave a little gap to let the steam escape. Simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the beef is cooked through and tender.

4. Cook the noodles and assemble: When the soup is just about ready, remove the cinnamon stick, star anise and orange zest. Fish out the beef chunks and cut them into smaller pieces, and return the pieces to the pot so they soak up more flavor as the broth finishes cooking.

5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add in the bok choy, and boil until they’re tender but retaining some crispness, about 4 minutes. Use tongs to fish out the bok choy, cut each one in half lengthwise and set aside. To the same boiling water, add the noodles, and cook until just al-dente, referring to the package directions for the timing. Drain the noodles and evenly divide between 4 bowls. Add two bok choy halves to each bowl. Taste the soup and season it with salt, if needed. Ladle the hot soup into the bowls, making sure to get beef in each serving. Sprinkle with the scallions and cilantro and serve right away.

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