About the Recipe
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup: A Bowl of Pure Soul
There's something deeply comforting about authentic Taiwanese beef noodle soup that transcends mere sustenance—it's a warm embrace in a bowl, a dish that speaks to the soul without weighing down the body.
This isn't the heavy, greasy version you might find at mediocre establishments. True Taiwanese beef noodle soup is an art of balance: a crystal-clear, intensely flavorful bone broth that's been simmered for hours until it achieves that perfect harmony of richness and lightness. The beef becomes impossibly tender, practically melting at first bite, while the aromatic broth carries generations of tradition in every spoonful.
What makes this dish so special is its soul-warming quality without the heaviness. The long, slow broth-making process extracts pure essence from the bones, creating a liquid that's deeply nourishing yet surprisingly clean on the palate. Each bowl delivers that satisfying, meaty richness you crave, but leaves you feeling nourished rather than weighed down.
This is comfort food at its finest—the kind of dish that brings people home, that heals both body and spirit, and transforms simple ingredients into something truly extraordinary.
Ready to bring this warming tradition to your own kitchen?
Ingredients
8 lbs beef short rib finger meat, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 large yellow onions, sliced
3 big slices of ginger
4 tomatoes on the vine, quartered
2 green onions, halved and sliced thick
4–6 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups Taiwanese rice wine
1/2 to 2/3 cup soy sauce (adjust for desired)
3 tablespoons spicy black bean sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon crystal rock sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
Bone broth (or cheating tip:2 bags Mizkan Tonkotsu Soup Base)
Butter for sautéing
Water (enough to fill pot 95% full)
knife-cut noodles (e.g., James Bun brand or Wu-Mu Lanzhou Style Noodles)
Preparation
Step 1
In a 9-quart Dutch oven, melt butter to coat the bottom. Sauté the yellow onion, green onion, and ginger until golden.
Step 2
Add the beef and cook until golden. Add the tomatoes and carrots.
Step 3
Pour in rice wine, soy sauce, soup base, rock sugar, black pepper, sesame oil, and black bean sauce. Add water until the pot is 95% full.
Step 4
Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce to medium heat, and simmer for 2–3 hours.
Step 5
Reduce the heat to medium-low and keep cooking for at least another 2–3 hours. Add water if necessary. The longer it cooks, the more tender the beef will become. For optimal flavor, let it sit overnight.
Step 5 Once cooled, remove all the oil from the surface.
*If the Dutch oven is too small, use a second pot and rotate contents occasionally for even cooking.
Serving:
Reheat and let it simmer for an additional 1-2 hours before serving. Pair with knife-cut noodles, such as James Bun or Wu-Mu Lanzhou Style Noodles. Slightly undercook the noodles so they finish cooking in the hot broth. For extra spice, serve with Din Tai Fung chili oil on the side. I also enjoy adding bok choy on the side.