taiwanese beef noodle soup

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup is a perfect orchestration of tender beef, a rich and slightly spicy broth, fresh noodles, a little bok choy, and that absolutely necessary fistful of Chinese pickled mustard greens and fresh scallions and cilantro.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup: In an Instant Pot or On the Stove

beef

ginger ((smashed))

garlic ((smashed))

scallions

onion

tomato

chilies

tomato paste

spicy bean paste (douban jiang)

sugar

soy sauce

Shaoxing wine

water ((to make the soup broth))

Chinese aromatic herb packet

fresh wheat (white) noodles ((900 grams))

bok choy

Cilantro ((finely chopped))

Scallions ((finely chopped))

mustard greens ((to taste))

star anise

cinnamon stick

bay leaves

fennel seeds

cumin seeds

coriander seeds

Sichuan peppercorns

¼ teaspoon five spice powder

black pepper

Boil enough water in a pot to boil all of your beef. Once the water is boiling, add the beef. Let it come back up to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Strain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with fresh water to remove any impurities.

Next, in your instant pot, turn on the saute setting. Add the oil, crushed ginger, garlic, scallions, and onions in that order. Stir to lightly caramelize. Let the onion turn translucent. Add the tomato and dried chilies.

Next, add the meat to the pot. Then add the tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, and mix thoroughly.

Pour 8 cups of water into the instant pot. Add the spice packet. The instant pot should be filled to the 10-cup line; it shouldn’t be more than ⅔ of the way full per safety instructions. Our instant pot is the largest size (8 quarts); if yours is smaller, you can halve the recipe accordingly.

Close the lid of the instant pot, and make sure you have your vent set so it is not venting. Cook for 100 minutes on the aromatic meat stew setting. If you don’t have an instant pot, you can use a regular pot on the stove, but instead, cook the soup on a low simmer for 3-4 hours.

When the instant pot timer is up, carefully release the pressure valve (wear an oven mitt, so you don’t scald yourself!). Boil some noodles per package instructions, and in the last minute or two of the noodles cooking, throw your bok choy in and blanch until just tender.

Serve each bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup with a serving of noodles, a few stalks of bok choy, and generous sprinklings of finely minced cilantro, scallions, and Chinese pickled mustard greens. Pro tip, buy the pre-seasoned spicy mustard greens and you can use them straight out of the package. If you are using the non-spicy version (from a can, for example), chop and saute with a little oil, a few chopped dried red chilies, and a pinch of sugar.

This braised beef noodle soup used Chinese dry aromatics and beef with marbled fat making a delicious rich beef noodle soup that rivals restaurant versions!

Braised Beef Noodle Soup (红烧牛肉面)

cinnamon

black cardamom pods (草果)

star anise pods

cloves

tangerine peel

white peppercorns

licorice root (甘草片)

sand ginger (山奈／沙姜)

amomum white cardamom (白寇)

water

ginger

rock sugar

garlic

Salt ((to taste))

Leafy greens of your choice

cilantro

First place the aromatics in a piece of cheesecloth tied tightly with kitchen string or disposable/fillable tea filter bags. That’s the cinnamon, black cardamom, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves, tangerine peel, bay leaves, white peppercorns, licorice slices, sand ginger, and amomum white cardamon. Phew. It’ll be worth it. Trust me.

Next, rinse off the beef under cold running water. In a soup pot, add 16 cups of water, the ginger, and beef. Bring to a boil and cook for a few more minutes until you see some foam floating on the top of the water. Skim the foam off. You don’t want these impurities from the beef making your soup cloudy. Turn off the heat, fish out the pieces of beef, and strain the resulting broth through a fine-meshed strainer, into a heatproof bowl or other pot. Set aside, along with the ginger pieces.

In another large, thick-bottomed soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the rock sugar, the white parts of the scallion, and the garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the scallions are lightly seared. Add the beef, turn up the heat, and mix everything well.

Cook for about 5 minutes, and stir once or twice in between. Now add the Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce, and stir everything together well so that the beef is coated in the soy sauce.

Now add the aromatics, plus the daikon, and the broth and ginger pieces that you boiled the beef in. Bring everything to a boil and immediately turn the heat down to medium. Simmer for 90 minutes. The broth should be steadily simmering where you can see water moving in the pot, but not at a rolling boil.

After 90 minutes, turn off the heat and let it stand (with the lid on) for another hour. Now your soup base is ready. Reheat, remove the aromatics, and add salt to taste before serving. Just remember, adding salt too early will dry out the beef.

Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, strain, and transfer to a large serving bowl. Blanch a handful of your leafy greens of choice in the noodle water, and add it to the noodles. Then, ladle in the beef and the soup. Top with the chopped green parts of the scallions you set aside earlier and some chopped cilantro (optional). And if you really can’t resist a bit of spice, add a spoonful of chili oil. Wink! Wink!

Enjoy!

Taiwanese beef noodle soup, niu rou mian, is a soup native to Taiwan, sometimes referred to as “Sichuan beef noodle soup&quot;

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

beef beef

soybean oil ((or peanut oil))

/ 5 cm piece fresh ginger, grated

garlic (, crushed)

scallions (,

onion (,

tomatoes (, peeled,

red hot peppers (, halved lengthwise)

water (for the broth)

white fresh wheat noodles

baby bok choy (, ½ per serving)

Cilantro (, finely chopped)

Scallion (,

Marinated kai choy leaves ((Chinese mustard leaves))

red hot peppers (,

Dutch oven

Strainer

Electric cooker ((or classic pressure cooker))

Place the beef in a Dutch oven, cover it with water and place it on a high heat.

Boil for 1 minute.

Drain it in a colander and rinse it thoroughly with lukewarm fresh water to remove impurities and blood.

Then, in an electric cooker or a classic pressure cooker, heat the oil over medium heat.

Add the ginger, garlic, scallions and onion in that order, stirring for a few seconds between adding each ingredient.

Stir to lightly caramelize everything.

Add the tomatoes and dried peppers.

Add the meat, tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, and mix everything well.

Pour in the 2 quarts (2 liters) of water. Add the packet of Chinese spices and herbs (lu bao) and mix.

Close the cooker and cook under pressure for 30 minutes over medium heat then 2 hours over very low heat.

When the cooking time is over, carefully release the pressure valve.

Boil noodles in plenty of water according to package directions. Drain them.

In the noodle cooking water, blanch the halved baby bok choys lengthwise for 2 minutes or until just tender.

Serve each bowl of beef noodle soup with a serving of noodles, ½ baby bok choy and generous pinches of cilantro, slices of scallion, marinated Chinese mustard leaves, and, optionally, slices of fresh red pepper (optional) .

Learn how to make the classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Braised beef shank until tender with a spicy savory beef broth and chewy noodles.

Taiwanese beef noodle soup recipe

4.3 oz yellow onion (sliced (half of one large))

garlic (roughly chopped, 10 large)

0.5 oz ginger (sliced (4-5 pieces))

scallion

whole vine tomatoes (roughly sliced (14.5 oz))

carrots

4-5 oz fresh shiitake (sliced (4-5 full-sized caps))

lbs boneless beef shank (or substitute boneless chuck roast

½ tsp coarse sea salt (divided)

½ tsp ground black pepper (divided)

avocado oil

tbsp doubanjiang (see notes)

cinnamon (3-inch

dry bay leaf

star anise pods (optional)

beef stock (e.g., Pacific Foods)

Taiwanese michu (or Chinese cooking wine)

tsp coarse sea salt (or more to taste)

tsp five spice powder

brown sugar (or rock sugar)

Blanched vegetables (e.g., bok choy

Taiwanese Sliced Noodles (Dao xiao mian) (e.g., wheat-based noodles or la mian)

Garnish Cilantro leaves (optional)

mustard greens (optional)

Dice vegetables

Prepare aromatics and vegetables: Slice the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. Chop the scallions, separating the white and green parts. Dice the tomatoes, carrots, and slice the shiitake mushrooms.

Slice and season the beef

Slice and season beef: Slice beef into slightly thicker than ½ inch (1.3 cm) slices. Season with ¼ tsp each of salt and pepper.

Assemble braising sauce

Prepare braising liquid: In a cup or bowl (at least 600 ml capacity), combine beef stock, water, soy sauce, michu, salt, five spice powder, and sugar. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.

Prep:

Preheat the wok

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat until hot. Add avocado oil.

Sear the beef

Increase heat to medium-high and sear beef for 2 minutes on one side, then 1 minute on the other. Remove and set aside.

Sear beef:

Saute aromatics

In the same pan, sauté onion, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and white scallion parts over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

Add bean paste

Add tomatoes and doubanjiang. Sauté for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Saute aromatics and tomatoes:

Assemble in pressure cooker

Transfer sautéed aromatics, tomatoes, and beef into the Instant Pot.

Add vegetables

Add carrots, shiitake mushrooms, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, and star anise (if using).

Add braising liquid

Stir the braising liquid again and pour it into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to distribute evenly.

Transfer to instant pot:

Seal to cook

Seal the Instant Pot lid and pressure valve. Set to Manual - High Pressure - 40 minutes.

Natural pressure release

Once done, allow a natural release for 15 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to quick release.

Pressure cook:

Blanch vegetables

In a separate pot, blanch vegetables for a few seconds and set aside.

Boil noodles

Use the same water to boil noodles according to package instructions. Time this step so the noodles are ready to serve alongside the beef.

Blanch vegetables and Boil noodles:

Taste the soup

Taste the soup after cooking. It will be quite concentrated. Dilute with 1.5 to 2.5 cups (360-600 ml) of hot water if needed to lighten the flavor.

Taste the broth:

How to serve

Divide noodles into individual bowls. Ladle beef, broth, and vegetables over the noodles. Garnish with cilantro and serve with pickled mustard greens if desired. Serve hot.

Garnish and serve:

Made this, and it was a huge success! Thank you!

Hi Chih-Yu, I am so glad to have found your website. I tried this recipe and it was incredibly delicious 😋.  The only thing I substituted in the recipe is using dates vs. sugar, because I didn't have sugar in the pantry. No more going to Din Tai Fung for this dish. So wonderful! I have since shared your website with friends ! Thank you so much Chih-Yu!!!

This one hits home for me. My mom is from Taiwan and would make this for us when I was a kid. So nostalgic and yummy! Thank you for your amazing recipes!

10/10 recipe. Had zero expectations and was blown away by how rich this broth was. Better than any I've ever had in a restaurant! Thanks for this 🙏🏽❤️

Wow, this was AWESOME. I was always intimidated by this recipe - i, for some reason, had thought the broth/stew needed to be simmered for hours to taste good. But in under 2 hours, it was amazing!! Thank you for the recipe - I did make some substitutions because I made this on the fly (just happened to have almost the right ingredients):
- yellow onion: used red onion
- cinnamon and ginger: used powdered
- tomatoes: used an 28oz can of diced tomatoes
- shitake: used fresh oyster mushroom (kind and regular small ones)
- dates: used a bit of maple syrup (I assume the dates are in there for sweetness, and not for texture)
- beef stock: used chicken stock
- five spice powder: used garam masala + more allspice/cloves powder

LOL ok... so quite a few substitutions, but it was all I had on hand. it turned out amazing still -- and really close the the real thing -- yes, i've had this dish before in taiwan (perhaps mine had a little more cloves/allspice ;) in it because i love those flavours)!! Anyway, thank you -- and I can't wait to make this for my parents :) they will love this.

This recipe was FABULOUS. Thank you so much!

Great dish! Can I cook this using a pressure cooker?

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/DCDIPw34.mp4

Taiwanese beef noodle soup.mp4

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