Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

We here on Herbology LOVE our soups. In case you didn't know. It's generally cheap, healthy, and can stretch for several days. This Chinese Beef Noodle Soup is one that we made a while ago but got overshadowed by other posts and is just now making it on to the blog. The rich, complex broth is great with the fresh, raw toppings. If you can't get all the spices used here, it isn't the end of the world. Your broth won't taste as good as mine but it will still be delicious. 

One more thing to remember: cut the meat smaller than me. I cut my meat into pieces that were wayyy too big and it was hard to eat. So cut them about half the size they are in the pictures. 

To make this recipe you'll need:

Aromatics/spices

1 3" cinnamon stick, broken in half.  2 black cardamom pods 1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4 star anise pods 10 cloves Several slices of orange peel 6 bay leaves

2 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp pink peppercorns

1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns

5 pieces of licorice root 4 slices of fresh ginger  10 green cardamom pods

1 tbsp coriander seeds

Soup  3 pounds of beef brisket, cut into large chunks 5 slices ginger

Water to cover

3 tablespoons flavorless cooking oil 1 tbsp of brown sugar or rock sugar 5 scallions (white parts) 1 whole head of garlic 2 small daikon radishes, thinly sliced and quartered 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 1/4 cup light soy sauce

8 cups beef broth

8 cups chicken broth 

1/8 cup cream sherry Salt to taste Rice noodles, dried or fresh

Baby bok choy

Garnish

Chopped cilantro (lots of it)

Finely chopped raw daikon

Green parts of scallions

Begin by taking all your spices and tying them up in a bit of cheesecloth. 

Now put your beef in a pot with the ginger slices and cover it with water. Bring it to a boil to force the scum and impurities out of the beef. This ensures your broth will stay clear. 

Drain the beef and rinse the remaining scum off it. Keep the ginger for later. 

Rinse your pot, heat your oil in it, and add brown sugar. 

Add garlic and scallions and cook until they are lightly seared. 

Add the beef and cook for a few minutes more, browning it, then add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and shaoxing wine and coat the beef with it. 

Now add the daikon, reserved ginger pieces, cheesecloth of aromatics, and beef and chicken broths, and simmer for 90 minutes or until the beef is tender. 

With 30 minutes left, add 1/8 cup of cream sherry. 

Once it's done, cover it and let it stand for another hour. During this time you can prepare the garnishes. Finely chop cilantro, the green parts of the scallions, and any leftover daikon radish. If you have dried rice noodles, cook them now so they're ready when your soup is. 

If you have fresh rice noodles, cook them just before you eat. When you're ready to serve, submerge the noodles in boiling water for 10 seconds, then drain and run cold water over them to stop them from overcooking. 

Discard the ginger and spices from the soup. Arrange some noodles and some bok choy in a bowl, then ladle over some beef and broth. Garnish with raw daikon, cilantro, and Scallion. 

Prep: 30min

Cook: 2hr 30min