Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup: In an Instant Pot or On the Stove

Ingredients

• 3 lb beef shank (cut into 2-inch chunks)
• 2 tbsp oil (for sautéing)
• 2 inch ginger (smashed)
• 6 garlic (cloves, smashed)
• 3 scallions (cut into 2-inch segments)
• 1 onion (cut into wedges)
• 1 tomato (cut into wedges)
• 4 dried chilies (ripped in half)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp spicy bean paste (douban jiang)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 0.5 cup soy sauce
• 0.5 cup Shaoxing wine
• 8 cup water (to make the soup broth)
• 1 Chinese cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves (optional)
• 0.5 tbsp fennel seeds
• 0.5 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
• 0.25 tsp black pepper
• 32 oz fresh wheat (white) noodles
• bok choy (a small handful for each serving)
• cilantro (finely chopped, for garnish)
• scallions (finely chopped, for garnish)
• pickled mustard greens (to taste, also known as snow vegetable or 雪菜)

Steps

1. 1

   Boil enough water in a pot to boil all of your beef. Once the water is boiling, add the beef. Let it come back up to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Strain in a colander and rinse thoroughly with fresh water to remove any impurities.

2. 2

   In your Instant Pot, turn on the sauté setting. Add the oil, crushed ginger, garlic, scallions, and onions in that order. Stir to lightly caramelize. Let the onion turn translucent.

3. 3

   Add the tomato and dried chilies to the Instant Pot.

4. 4

   Add the blanched meat to the pot. Then add the tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine, and mix thoroughly.

5. 5

   Place the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and black pepper into a Chinese aromatic herb packet or spice bag.

6. 6

   Pour 8 cups of water into the Instant Pot. Add the prepared spice packet. Ensure the pot is not filled more than 2/3 of the way full (the 10-cup line on an 8-quart pot).

7. 7

   Close the lid of the Instant Pot and ensure the vent is set to the sealed position. Cook for 100 minutes on the Meat/Stew setting. (If using a regular pot on the stove, cook on a low simmer for 3-4 hours instead).

8. 8

   When the timer is up, carefully release the pressure valve using an oven mitt to avoid steam burns.

9. 9

   Boil the fresh wheat noodles according to package instructions. In the last 1-2 minutes of cooking the noodles, add the bok choy to the water to blanch until just tender.

10. 10

    Serve each bowl with a portion of noodles, a few stalks of bok choy, and the beef broth. Garnish generously with finely minced cilantro, scallions, and Chinese pickled mustard greens.

Notes

Pro tip: Buy pre-seasoned spicy mustard greens to use straight out of the package. If using non-spicy canned versions, chop and sauté them with a little oil, dried red chilies, and a pinch of sugar before serving. For smaller Instant Pots (less than 8 quarts), halve the recipe to follow safety guidelines.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• soup
• beef
• noodles
• Instant Pot
• slow-cooked
• Taiwanese
• spicy