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Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Normally you would use beef shank (shin) meat for this, but I use venison shanks. Any shank will work, however. Lamb, veal, bear or wild pig would be good choices.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
3 hrs
Servings: 8
Calories: 368 kcal
Course: Main Course , Soup , Lunch
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

  • 2 deer shanks, or 3 to 4 pounds of similar shank meat
  • 3 tablespoons lard or peanut oil
  • 6 to 8 green onions, divided
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • A 4-inch long piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
  • 4 star anise pods (optional)
  • 1 heaping teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
  • 2 to 6 dried hot chiles, broken and seeded
  • 1 cup Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Chinese black bean sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sorghum syrup or dark honey (optional)
  • 2 pounds Chinese wheat noodles (see Headnotes)
  • 4 baby bok choy heads, leaves separated
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup chopped pickled mustard greens (optional)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Submerge the shanks in water in a large soup pot. Bring this to a boil and let it roll for a couple minutes. Remove the shanks and toss the water. This process removes some of the scum that floats to the surface, and will make a cleaner tasting, clearer broth.
  2. While you are waiting for this to happen, chop all your vegetables. Separate the white parts from the green parts of the green onions. Leave the white parts in large pieces, but finely chop the green parts.
  3. Wipe the pot out and heat up the lard or oil over medium high heat. Sauté the white parts of the green onions, the garlic and ginger for about 1 minute. Add the star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and chiles and stir to combine. Return the shanks to the pot.
  4. Pour in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sorghum syrup (or honey) and bean sauce, then enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch. Bring this to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently until the shanks are tender -- about 2 hours for beef, up to 4 hours for a very old deer or moose or elk or whatever.
  5. When the shanks are tender, fish them out. While they are cooling, strain the broth. Pull the meat off the bones and cut it into largish chunks. Discard the bones and any weird, vein-y looking things. Wipe the pot again, then pour in the strained broth and add the shank meat to keep warm. Taste it for salt and add some if needed.
  6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, then add the bok choy. Boil the bok choy for about 2 minutes, then remove. Add the noodles.
  7. To serve, when the noodles are done, put some in everyone's bowls. Top with broth and meat, then add some bok choy, the green parts of the chopped green onions, cilantro, and pickled mustard greens. Some people like a bit more heat, so if you have Chinese chile sauce handy, have that at the table.

Nutrition Information

Calories 368kcal (18%) Carbohydrates 47g (16%) Protein 16g (32%) Fat 9g (14%) Saturated Fat 2g (10%) Cholesterol 10mg (3%) Sodium 2193mg (91%) Potassium 374mg (11%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 2740IU (55%) Vitamin C 28mg (31%) Calcium 97mg (10%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 368

% Daily Value*

Calories 368kcal 18%
Carbohydrates 47g 16%
Protein 16g 32%
Fat 9g 14%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 2193mg 91%
Potassium 374mg 8%
Fiber 4g 16%
Sugar 6g 12%
Vitamin A 2740IU 55%
Vitamin C 28mg 31%
Calcium 97mg 10%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.