Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

By vealam

Ingredients

• 3 pounds bone-in beef shanks with marrow bones still on
• 1 pound beef oxtails
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 10 garlic cloves, bruised
• one 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into 6 slices,
• 5 scallions, halved crosswise
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 3 star anise
• 1 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 Thai chili, split lengthwise
• 1/4 cup chile bean sauce
• 1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine
• 8 tablespoons light soy sauce (I used gf tamari soy sauce)
• 10 cups water
• 1 pound broccolini, stems halved
• 1 pound fresh or dried thick Chinese noodles (I used rice noodles because I had them on hand)
• cilantro
• extra freshly sliced Thai red chili (optional)

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from tarteletteblog.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large stock pot, heat half the oil over high heat. Sear half of the beef shanks and oxtails on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pot and repeat with the remaining oil and beef pieces.
Add all the remaining soup ingredients, except the broccolini, noodles and cilantro.
Bring to a boil then lower the heat to low, cover with the lid askew and cook for about 3 hours or until the beef is tender and falls off the bone.
Turn off the heat, and remove the beef pieces with a slotted spoon or a pair of tongues. Let the beef cool then shred it off the bones. Discard the bones. Strain the soup into another pot and put the meat into that pot. Refrigerate overnight. The next day, skim the fat that has risen to the top then reheat the soup on low heat.
In the meantime, blanch the broccolini in boiling water for about a minute. Set aside. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Divide the noodles and broccolini among 6 bowls, laddle soup over noodles and garnish with cilantro and extra chili if desired.