When it comes to food on Father’s Day, people often think about beer and bacon. Well, those things don’t make me think about my dad. Noodle soups do because of my dad’s obsession with them and his upbringing in Taiwan where Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup is the national dish. You see, my dad is a bit of a, uh, connoisseur when it comes to noodle soups because he likes making them. When we were younger, my siblings and I would be guinea pigs for his late-night noodle soup experiments because of his quest to make The Best Noodle Soup Ever (I’ll talk about his goulash phase another time). Inspired by my dad and my heritage, I wanted to create a no-fuss version of the Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup.
Traditionally, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup is pretty labor intensive: there are various sachets of herbs to put together and the cooking process itself can take days. This version only requires a couple ingredients in a slow cooker.
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Ingredients
2 pounds boneless beef shank, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cups water
2 cups beef broth (we used Progresso)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup cooking rice wine
1/4 cup tomato paste (we used Muir Glen)
1 piece (1 1/2 inches) fresh ginger, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
2 tablespoons spicy bean paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons five spice powder
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 pound Chinese broccoli
1 package (11.2 ounces) dried Taiwanese wheat noodles (we used Wu-Mu)
Directions
In a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, combine beef, water, broth, soy sauce, rice wine, tomato paste, ginger, spicy bean paste, sugar, five spice powder and half of the sliced green onions.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting for 8 to 9 hours (or on High setting for 4 to 5 hours).
Separate thin Chinese broccoli stems from large stalk; discard large stalks. Cut small stems, florets and leaves into 2-inch pieces.
Stir chopped Chinese broccoli into beef mixture in slow cooker. Cover; cook about 10 minutes longer or until broccoli is crisp tender.
Meanwhile, cook and drain noodles as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.
Divide noodles among bowls; ladle soup mixture over the noodles. Top with remaining sliced green onions.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Total Time: 8 Hours 15 Minutes | Servings: 8
Tip: For more traditional flavor, use a tablespoon of Chinese rock sugar or yellow sugar instead of granulated sugar and let it slowly dissolve by itself in the slow cooker. Chinese rock sugar is typically found in Asian grocery stores and it is not as sweet as granulated sugar. It has a yellowish tint to it, which is why it is also sometimes called yellow sugar. It is normally used to balance spicy and savory dishes for flavor.