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Beef Noodle Soup


titus wong

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With the change in seasons, I've suddenly developed a taste for spciy beef noodle soup. Since I live in a predominantly Vietnamese neighborhood, I can get my hands on bun bo hue and pho on a daily basis, and count myself lucky to be able to do so.

But I find myself craving garlicky, cinnamony chili-laced white wheat noodles studded with chunks of tender beef and sprinkled with chives. Does anyone have any good versions or memories of this dish? Recipes would be appreciated and pointers as to the cuts of beef or type of noodles preferred.

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This sort of braised beef is essentially red-cooked meat with the addition of a spicy element, very often spicy bean or chile paste.

Any cut of beef that braises well will work, though the gelatinous meat of the shin is very often used. I myself might prefer using cubed chuck because I enjoy its higher fat content and sinewy parts (after cooking them tender). Avoid very lean cuts such as sirloin or round.

To prepare the dish lightly brown a couple of pounds of cubed beef in some vegetable oil then remove all but 1 T oil from the pan. Add some sliced ginger and 2-3 scallions, the hot bean paste (you might also use some dried chile or nothing spicy/hot if you prefer), the browned meat, and liquid to cover, using stock if available, water, or recycled red-cooking sauce. Bring to a boil and add some rice wine or sherry (couple of tablespoons), soy (I would use a combination of light and dark, enough to darken the braising liquid without making it over salty), a generous tablespoon or two of sugar, 8-10 star anise, and a stick or two of cinnamon. You could even add a little 5-spice powder if you like. Cover and braise gently until the meat is tender 2 1/2-3 hours. Uncover the dish, skim away any fat, and reduce the liquid over high heat until its flavor is concentrated. While reducing, correct the seasoning: check for salinity, sweetness, heat and anise flavor adding a bit more of whatever is necessary. With less reduction the dish can be served as a soup, with more reduction and thickening (corn or tapioca starch) it becomes a dish. Before serving you can garnish the dish to your taste: with some chile or sesame oil, chopped scallions, beansprouts or pickled vegetable - and of course the noodles of your choice

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Wena -

After staring at your picture and licking my lips for a few minutes, I went out and bought the fixings for niuroumian. Mum, mum indeed. My recipe pretty much followed Eddie's recipe, except that I didn't have any cinnamon bark in the house, and I used some frozen braising liquid I had left over. Oh, and I added dried orange peel to mine.

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  • 2 months later...

I have a question...I have always made beef noodle soup the way my mom, grandmother, and relatives have always made it - first, blanch the meat, then drain it, then start the cooking process. However, the way I make European/American type stews is to brown the meat first, rather than blanching. Has anybody made it both ways? And if so, what way is better?

Also, I was wondering if you guys have used the pre-made spice packets, and how they compare to your own recipes.

I have both brisket and chuck...which cut would give me more tendon and more tender results? Thanks!!

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Ok, I'm going to show my red embarassed face...what is PHO? I know it's Vietnamese, is a noodle soup? but have never had it..or if I did, didn't know what it was called.

I have been deprived! :shock:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Ok, I'm going to show my red embarassed face...what is PHO? I know it's Vietnamese, is a noodle soup? but have never had it..or if I did, didn't know what it was called.

I have been deprived! :shock:

pho is vietnamese rice noodles.

most often eaten with raw beef sliced very thin.

usually, just before the order is brought to the table, the broth is poured into the bowl with the noodles, beef, etc.

the heat of the broth will cook the beef during the trip to the table.

Herb aka "herbacidal"

Tom is not my friend.

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  • 3 months later...
I have a question...I have always made beef noodle soup the way my mom, grandmother, and relatives have always made it - first, blanch the meat, then drain it, then start the cooking process. However, the way I make European/American type stews is to brown the meat first, rather than blanching. Has anybody made it both ways? And if so, what way is better?

Also, I was wondering if you guys have used the pre-made spice packets, and how they compare to your own recipes.

I have both brisket and chuck...which cut would give me more tendon and more tender results? Thanks!!

Blanching is done in Chinese cooking for cleaning and/or par-cooking. Meat was (and is, in much of the world) traditionally bought fresh-killed and not necessarily refrigerated. Blanching removes any dirt, bone fragments, and surface blood, and par-cooking means your wok timings are shorter. If your meat's clean, your recipe doesn't need par-cooking and you aren't making a clear stock, then I wouldn't bother with blanching.

Browning is different - the purpose is to make a crust on the outside so that that the meat doesn't fall part in braising, or else just for the delicious beefy flavour. In most spicy beef noodle soups I've had here in China, the meat wasn't browned, just braised, but you could get a good result either way.

Never tried the spice packets, but easy to do this without.

Brisket vs chuck - if your brisket has a nice thick fat cap, I'd use the brisket, sliced so each piece has a little fat. If the brisket has no fat, I'd use chuck, cubed. Gotta be some fat for flavour.

Yum.

- Hong Kong Dave

Hong Kong Dave

O que nao mata engorda.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hong Kong Dave is right -- a little fat is good. You need it for the long cooking. Along with brisket and chuck, try short ribs, outside flank ("gnul nam" Cantonese; "nam" in Vietnamese), beef tendon or oxtail.

The outside flank is often used for making Chinese stews and braised dishes; you'll find it at Chinese and Vietnamese markets. It's not the same as flank steak, and texturally is loosey-goosey seeming. Blanching the entire piece first first will not only allow you to remove the impurities but also enable you to more easily cut it into chunks. It's tasty, rich and beefy!

Enjoy,

Andrea

Andrea Q. Nguyen

Author, food writer, teacher

Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors (Ten Speed Press, Oct. 2006)

Vietworldkitchen.com

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  • 1 year later...

There are two common types of Niu Yiou Mein (beef noodle) in Taiwan. The most well known is the "red braised" stock and the other type is clear beef broth which is closer to the pho stock. I have been to a Halal joint in Taipei and in my opinion they served one of the best Chinn-Dwon "clear braised" broth beef noodle.

Leave the gun, take the canoli

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I like my noodles thick and irregular, and I like tendon more than beef. There should also be some the pickled green, suan tsai as a condiment.

Does anyone have a recipe for suan tsai? I also enjoy it with my niu rou mian.

Chopped pickled mustard green

Mince Garlic

Sesame oil

Salt

Vinegar

Sliced hot chilli peppers

Combine mustard green, mince garlic and chilli peppers and stir fry it in a pan. Dash of salt and couple teaspoons of vinegar. And finally drizzle the tsuan tsai with sesame oil. Make sure to rinse off the pickle brine of the mustard green prior chopping.

Leave the gun, take the canoli

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I like my noodles thick and irregular, and I like tendon more than beef. There should also be some the pickled green, suan tsai as a condiment.

Does anyone have a recipe for suan tsai? I also enjoy it with my niu rou mian.

Chopped pickled mustard green

Mince Garlic

Sesame oil

Salt

Vinegar

Sliced hot chilli peppers

Combine mustard green, mince garlic and chilli peppers and stir fry it in a pan. Dash of salt and couple teaspoons of vinegar. And finally drizzle the tsuan tsai with sesame oil. Make sure to rinse off the pickle brine of the mustard green prior chopping.

Hey AzianBrewer! Thanks for the recipe.

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Based on the rough proportions, ingredients and techniques listed above, I have worked out a recipe using actual proportions - I haven't made this yet, but my mental palate tells me it's good. ;)

My version calls for straining the soup prior to adding the noodles to remove the seasonings and adds back the beef - a bit more elegant that way, I think.

cheers, JH

___________________________________

The Hirshon Chinese Beef Noodle Soup, Niu Rou Mian

2 pounds cubed brisket, including fat cap

4 tablespoons peanut oil

4 tablespoons minced ginger

4 scallions, diced

4 tablespoons chili paste with garlic, or to taste

12 cups beef stock

4 tablespoons shaoxing

5 tablespoons dark soy flavoured with mushrooms, or to taste

1 tablespoon equivalent piece of dried orange peel

2 tablespoons crushed Chinese rock sugar

7 star anise, broken into points

2 tablespoons 5-spice powder

2 packages fresh Shanghai noodles

To prepare the dish lightly brown brisket in peanut oil then remove all but 1 T oil from the pan. Add ginger and scallions, the chili paste, the browned meat, and stock to cover all. Bring to a boil and add shaoxing, soy, sugar, star anise and 5-spice powder. Add the soy a tablespoon at a time - you want some color to the stock, but not to much salt - use your best judgment.

Cover and braise gently until the meat is tender 2 1/2-3 hours. Uncover the dish, skim away any fat, and reduce the liquid over high heat until its flavor is concentrated. While reducing, correct the seasoning: check for salinity, sweetness, heat and anise flavor adding a bit more of whatever is necessary. Prior to serving, strain the soup and add in previously cooked Shanghai noodles and add back the beef.

Before serving you can garnish the dish to your taste with some chile or sesame oil, chopped scallions, beansprouts or pickled vegetable (suan tsai) - the JH recipe for suan tsai follows:

3 tablespoons chopped pickled mustard greens

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon szechuan peppercorn / salt blend

3 teaspoons sweetened black vinegar

1 tablespoon minced hot chilli peppers

Make sure to rinse off the pickle brine of the mustard green prior to chopping. Combine mustard green, minced garlic and chilli peppers and stir fry. Add salt and vinegar and finally drizzle the tsuan tsai with sesame oil just before removing from heat.

Edited by jhirshon (log)
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Hello guys I've been wandering around these threads for the past couple of weeks!!! finally got approved today!

But back to the topic, on the meat, I usually get the fattiest brisket I can find, and cut it in large cubes. I opt for the fatty brisket because most of the fat melts as you cook it. i slow cook my beef in a clay pot for 3-4 hrs along with a stick of cinnamon, 5 star anise, a tablespoon of dark mushroom soy sauce for color, a splash or two of xiaoshing wine, a thumb size piece of smashed ginger, 2 tbsp sugar and water enough to cover the beef and additional water in the clay pot just enough to raise the water level inside to about half an inch more.........ayahhh!!! all this food talk making me hungry. and for the noodles I use shanghai noodles as well.

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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  • 2 years later...
There are two common types of Niu Yiou Mein (beef noodle) in Taiwan.  The most well known is the "red braised" stock and the other type is clear beef broth which is closer to the pho stock.  I have been to a Halal joint in Taipei and in my opinion they served one of the best Chinn-Dwon "clear braised" broth beef noodle.

Does anybody know if there's good (by good, I mean reliable) recipe for the red-braised Taiwanese version?

Thanks in advance :)

Musings and Morsels - a film and food blog

http://musingsandmorsels.weebly.com/

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