Red-Braised Beef Shank Noodle Soup, Taipei Style

What you need

• 1.4 kg (3 lb) beef shank, cut into 4 large pieces
• salt, to taste
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 8 cloves garlic, smashed
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) fresh ginger, sliced and bruised
• 4 scallions, halved crosswise, plus 1 sliced for garnish
• 3 tbsp doubanjiang, chili bean paste
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) Shaoxing wine
• 4 star anise
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 2 fresh red chiles, split lengthwise
• 40 g (1 1/2 oz) rock sugar
• 6 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2.5 l (10 cups) water
• 450 g (1 lb) baby bok choy, leaves separated
• 450 g (1 lb) thick wheat noodles, fresh or dried
• 2 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Pat the beef dry and season it all over with salt.

2. 2

   Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Brown the beef on all sides, 2-3 min per side, then lift it out.

3. 3

   Lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions and stir until fragrant, 1 min.

4. 4

   Stir in the doubanjiang and fry until the oil turns red, about 1 min.

5. 5

   Pour in the Shaoxing wine and scrape up the browned bits from the base.

6. 6

   Return the beef and add the star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, five-spice powder, chiles, rock sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and water.

7. 7

   Bring to a boil and skim off the grey foam. Cover and simmer gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours.

8. 8

   Turn off the heat and leave the pot partly covered for 30 min so the beef relaxes in the broth.

9. 9

   Lift out the beef. Strain the broth into a clean pot, discard the solids and skim off excess fat.

10. 10

    Cut the beef across the grain into slices or bite-sized chunks.

11. 11

    Bring the broth back to a boil and taste it, adding a splash of light soy sauce if it needs more depth.

12. 12

    Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water until just tender. Add the bok choy for the last 1-2 min, then drain.

13. 13

    Divide the noodles and bok choy among bowls, top with beef and ladle the hot broth over.

14. 14

    Finish with sliced scallion and cilantro.

Imported from vietworldkitchen.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.