Taiwanese Beef Noodle (Simplified from Chef Hou's Award Winning Taiwanese Beef Noodle)

I have been craving for Taiwanese beef noodle for a while. The slightly spicy dark coloured broth, covered by a layer of red chilli oil, so flavourful with the use of many herbs, that the taste linger in the mouth long after finishing the meal. 

And then I found this recipe, it is not just any recipe, but the recipe of the award winning Taiwanese beef noodle from Chef Hou. Initially, I was taken aback by the many steps and time taken to make the broth and sauce. Well, when you have a wish, you will find a way. Ends up, I managed to simplify Chef Hou's recipe and come out with this one. How should I put this? I would say this is the best Taiwanese beef noodle that I have tried! 

I have not tried following through all the original steps in Chef Hou's recipe so there is no way to compare the two. What I did was simply combining the making of the sauce and the broth together, while keeping all the ratio of ingredients intact. I believe the taste is close enough while the effort of making this delectable dish is significantly cut by half. If you are trying to have a glimpse of how this award winning noodle taste like, then wait no more, you will not regret making this!

Taiwanese Beef Noodle

Ingredients

A

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 green onions, cut into 3-inch pieces, reserve some and chopped finely for garnish
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1-inch ginger, peeled and sliced lengthwise about 1/8 inch thickness

B

• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp Lee Kum Kee chilli black bean sauce
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1.5 tbsp tau cu (soy bean paste)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

C Herb bag

• 1 star anise
• 1/3 tsp fennel seeds
• 1g angelica roots
• 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 6g cinnamon sticks (2 pieces of 3-inch sticks)

D

• 1 kg beef shank / rib
• 1 litre water

E

• 1/6 cup spicy fermented bean curd, mashed
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaves

Others

• noodle of your choice ( I used you mian from NTUC)
• Xiao Bak Choy
• spring onion for garnish

Cooking Directions

1. In a pot, heat vegetable oil and saute A till fragrant.
2. Add B, let it simmer for a minute 
3. Place ingredients C in a herb bag 
4. Add C &D into the pot. 
5. Stir in E and bring to boil.
6. Cook for 20 minutes in pressure cooker or cook until soft (around 4 hours without pressure cooker).