I know, I know. This is a fermentation blog, so why divert from topics about probiotic goodness? While pickled vegetables are great on their own, part of their beauty is their ability to add a contrasting, bright note to an otherwise meatier, heavier dish. So, tada! Here I am, spilling the secrets from my Taiwanese household because you know what goes great with beef noodle soup? Suan cai (recipe here)! They’re Chinese pickled mustard greens that are just the right amount of sour to complement your hearty bowl of beef noodle soup. Also, I’m addicted to my instant pot, so really this is a great excuse to get one and experience its mighty and mysterious powers.
Call it nostalgic bias, but I feel like beef noodle soup has this magical ability to soothe, warm, and heal your soul. Perhaps you could call it the Taiwanese version of your classic chicken noodle soup? Anyways, I’ve drawn inspiration from the flavors of my mom’s kitchen and my many adventures in Taiwan. Namely, my favorite joint in Yong Kang Jie in Taipei – Yong Kang Dao Xiao Mian. I am in love with their tomato beef noodle soup and their chewy, thick knife cut noodles. Alas, flying to Taiwan for noodles isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to do. So, try out this recipe – it’s my best attempt at trying to recreate the flavors here in the States.
What you’ll be working with 
Chop up all your vegetables 
Add your spices to a mesh bag (I use tea bags) 
Chop up meat into 1-inch cubes 
Boil beef until they’re all a little brown and then drain the water 
Saute the veggies in the instant pot until fragrant and then add in the rest of the ingredients 
Don’t forget to blanche some bok choy to put on top of the soup!
Tips and Tricks
- Tendons literally dissolve in your mouth and are fantastic at soaking up all the delicious soup. It may be an exotic ingredient for some, but I definitely encourage you to try it! You’ll have to make a trek to a Chinese supermarket to find this though. Should you decide to experience the beauty that is tendon, make sure to use a sharp knife. It’s super tough to cut, but in the face of boiling water, tendon softens into gelatinous goodness.
- My recipe calls for beef bones and beef broth, but both are definitely optional. I like to maximize the meaty flavor, but the instant pot itself is already incredibly powerful at extracting out the beefy punch.
- While this is a beef noodle soup, tomatoes really are the star of the show. This recipe also calls for tomato paste – definitely another easy way to increase the tomato tones. Ketchup is a good alternative too, but if you’re using it, leave out the sugar.
- Feel free to have this meal over multiple days. As you re-boil it every consecutive day, the flavors get more and more intense. I like to add more tomatoes as the days go by to really enhance that tomato flavor.
- You might notice I add potatoes and carrots into the mix. Feel free to also add in radish, winter melon, or whatever else your heart desires! While these are relatively non-traditional ingredients, they’re staples in my mom’s recipe. When you’re making broth as yummy as this, why not add some more veggies to soak up all those hearty flavors?
Ingredients
- 1 pound of beef (I used pot roast beef)
- 1/4 pound of tendon (optional)
- 2 beef knuckles (optional)
- 3 tomatoes
- 4 tbsp of tomato paste (or ketchup)
- 2 scallions chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 coarsely chopped onion
- 4 1/2-inch slices of ginger
- 2 minced chili peppers
- 6 coarsely chopped cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp of douban jiang (spicy bean paste)
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1/2 cup of shaoxing wine
- 1 cup of beef broth
- 4 cups of water
- 3 potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp five spice powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 5 star anise
- 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp of peppercorn
- Bok choy
- Suan cai
Instructions
- Chop up the beef and tendon into 1-inch cubes
- Boil the beef, tendon, and bones until lightly browned. Rinse and drain.
- Chop up the tomatoes, potatoes, onions, chili pepper, garlic, ginger, and scallions.
- Combine the peppercorn, fennel seeds, and star anise into a spice pouch or tie up in cheesecloth.
- Turn the instant pot to saute setting.
- After it heats up, add oil and saute tomatoes, garlic, ginger, onions, chili pepper, and scallions.
- Add in beef, soy sauce, and shaoxing wine.
- While stirring, add in tomato paste, spicy bean paste, sugar, cinnamon, and cumin.
- Add beef broth, water, spice packet, carrots, and potatoes.
- Turn instant pot to stew setting and close the lid, closing the vent.
- Cook for 80 minutes.
- Cook noodles and blanche bok choy.
- Chop suan cai into 1 cm pieces.
- Serve broth with noodles, bok choy, and suan cai!