TAIWANESE BEEF NOODLE SOUP (INSTANT POT & STOVE TOP)
I have to say it, COVID sucks. I desperately miss going to restaurants and enjoying a nice hot bowl of Asian noodle soup.
During these winter months, I’m frequently craving a hot bowl of noodle soup. I first made my Taiwanese beef noodle soup when I was actually looking for a Japanese ramen recipe and I stumbled upon a photo of bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup. It looked so delicious and satisfying and I immediately searched for a recipe. Then I was so delighted to see the cooking time being a fraction of a ramen recipe, especially when using an instant pot.
What is Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)?
For those who have never eaten this dish, you might be wondering what this is. It is one of the popular and famous dish in Taiwan. To help you visualise this dish, it’s a rich beef broth based soup served with noodles and bok-choy. It’s savoury, full, hearty, slightly spicy with fresh green onion and cilantro garnishes. During these cold days, it really warms you up from inside. I’m salivating as I’m describing to you. It’s everything you expect from a perfect bowl of noodle soup. But all you have to know is that it is frickin’ delicious and will satisfy all of your umami cravings.
Using an Instant pot?
I think every third North American household owns an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker brands like myself with a Cosori. This is an awesome kitchen gadget that will save you so much time for dishes that require long cooking over the stove top, making it perfect for soups, braising meat and beans etc.
With that being said, it’s perfect for making Taiwanese beef noodle soup! You quickly sauté the vegetable, add rest of the ingredients, add water, then close the lid and you just walk away while it does its magic. So, if you use an Instant Pot, it will take you 40 minutes instead of 2-3 hours of boiling over the stove. There is no monitoring, stirring, or adding additional water - I’m telling you, it’s so convenient and cooks food like a speed of light.
How does a pressure cooker work?
A pressure cooker is a sealed chamber that traps the steam generated as its food contents are heated. As steam builds, pressure increases, driving the boiling point of water past 212°F/100°C. This higher temperature shortens cooking times and, due to a lack of evaporation, it can extract flavor more efficiently from foods. The fact that foods are done in a shorter cooking time means they are less likely to lose their color and flavor, as well as minerals and vitamins that are evaporated or diluted when cooking in large quantities of water for longer periods of time.
All that being said, pressure cookers reduce cooking time by as much as 70%!
I hope you enjoy!
-Ari Yori
TAIWANESE BEEF NOODLE SOUP (INSTANT POT & STOVE TOP) RECIPE
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 40 minutes for instant pot/3-4 hours for stove top cooking
portion: 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 kg beef shank (rinderbug), chopped into large bite sized chunks
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup shaoxing wine (sake or mirin substitute)
8 fresh ginger slices, approx. 3.5 cm long and just less than 0.5cm thick, smashed with the back of the knife
6 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of the knife
8 green onion, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 large onion, cut into wedges
2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 large rock sugar (3 tsp sugar substitute)
2 tbsp duobanjiang (spicy bean paste)
1 tbsp tomato paste
7 star anise pods
1 tbsp Sichuan pepper corns (1 tsp Sichuan pepper powder substitute)
4 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
4 dried chillies (1 large red fresh chilli, deseeded substitute)
8 cups (1880g) water
12-15 baby bok-choy, sliced in half
egg noodles (other fresh or dried Asian flour noodles substitute)
garnishes
green onions, finely chopped
fresh coriander leaves
pickled mustard stems (optional)
DIRECTIONS
In a large sized pot, bring water to a boil (enough to cover the beef) along with 3 green onions, 4 slices ginger, and 3 star anise pods. When it comes to a boil, add the beef chunks and boil for approximately 1-2 minutes or so. Keep it uncovered and scum (frothy impurities) will rise to the top. Drain and rinse the beef with cold water then set it aside. You can discard the ginger, green onions and star anise.
Turn on your instant pot or any other pressure cooker you own and set it to the sauté mode for 20 minutes.
For stove top cooking, just use a large pot.
First, prepare your spices by enhancing their flavours. Into the instant pot without any oil, add the remaining 4 star anise, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan pepper corns (if are substituting to powder, add it in step #6). Sauté the spices 2-3 minutes until fragrant and slightly charred/coloured. Set it aside.
For stove top cooking, just add the spices into the large pot.
Into the instant pot, drizzle oil and add the remaining 4 ginger slices and sauté until fragrant. Add garlic cloves then the green onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the sliced onions and sauté until it begins to caramelize. Then add tomatoes and dried chillies.
For stove top cooking, you can use the same large pot and following the same steps.
Add the beef chunks. Then add the tomato paste, duobanjiang, light and dark soy sauce, and shaoxing wine and mix well until everything is evenly combined.
Add the sautéed star anise, cinnamon stick, and the Sichuan pepper corns you set aside. Also add the bay leaves and rock sugar.
Pour 8 cups of water and close the lid. Change the settings to meat-stew which will be approximately 40 minutes under high pressure.
For stove top cooking, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low to bring and simmer for 2-3 hours. Make you occasionally check. If your broth has evaporated and reduced significantly, add additional water.
When the instant pot timer is up, release the pressure. Then drain the soup using a colander or using a slotted spoon. Make sure you remove the beef pieces then set it aside and the rest can be discarded.
Bring a large pot of boil and first throw in the stalks of bok-choy and cook for 1 minute or until it turns bright green and is slightly tender. Remove the bok-choy and set it aside. Then into the same boiling water, cook your egg noodles or any other noodle of your choice as per package instructions.
To assemble, place a portion of noodles to each bowl. Then place the beef pieces and the bok-choy. Pour a generous amount of the beef soup. and garnish with green onions and coriander leaves.
