Beef Noodles (Niu Rou Mein) - #1

Attempt #1
I finally made Beef Noodles for the very first time after hunting for recipes! Brings back memories of sitting on a rickety stool before an equally rickety table at a road side street vendor in Taiwan... The deep bowl is set before me, steaming and smelling heavenly. I pick up my chopsticks and dive in, pulling up noodles and blowing on them so they are cool enough to eat. Slurp! Delicious. I pick up a thin slice of beef and take a bite of the tender and succulent meat. Picking up my wide spoon, I take a sip of the rich and spicy broth. Ah, fond memories!

Here are some of my observations:

• Beef shank is hard to find! Get beef short ribs instead.
• The minute you start cutting the scallions and ginger, it will instantly smell like a Chinese feast! :)
• Add plenty of water, you will want a lot of yummy broth!
• Making the seasoning paste is intoxicating! What an amazing aromatic smell that makes you wish you were ready to slurp up some noodles, and not just starting the cooking process.
• If you can't find chili bean paste (like me), you can use black bean sauce.
• I couldn't find pickled mustard greens, so I used some bok choy.
• Rusty loves to say the word bok choy.
• Add the soy sauce at the end of the cooking process, a little at a time.
• This is well worth the time and effort to make.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3 pounds beef shank or short ribs 
2 scallions, cut into 2 inch pieces
6 slices ginger
1 onion, sliced
4 tablespoon rice wine, divided
20 slices garlic
2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorn, or 2 tablespoons chili paste
1-3 tablespoons chili bean paste
4 star anise
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
Wheat noodles (or linguine), cooked
1 scallion, sliced thin - garnish

Pickled mustard greens, optional
- or -
Bok choy, optional - blanched in same water as noodles


Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear beef.

2. Add scallions, ginger, onion, and 1 tablespoon rice wine and cook for 1 minute. Add water to cover and bring to a boil.

Add water to cover.

3. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon peanut oil to skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic and peppercorn (or red pepper paste) for 1 minute. Add chili bean paste, star anise, and brown sugar and stir to combine. Stir seasoning paste into Dutch oven along with bay leaves.

4. Simmer for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Turn off heat and let rest for 1 hour.

5. Remove meat and let rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, remove star anise, peppercorn, and bay leaves from broth.

6. Slice meat across grain and return to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in soy sauce.

To serve:
Place noodles and veggies in large soup bowls. Ladle broth over noodles and place meat on top. Garnish with scallions.


Delish!


This meal is one of my proudest accomplishments in cooking. No joke. I'm so happy with the way it turned out and to top it off, the final product is so pretty! Happy slurping! :)