Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

It's gotten really chilly in the past couple of weeks, so I've been cultivating a craving for hot soups. Tonight's menu is one of my childhood favorites - Taiwan-style beef noodle soup, or 台湾牛肉面. I don't usually cook beef, but some cultural dishes just shouldn't be messed with - this dish is either made with beef or not at all. It takes awhile to cook and I adjust spices as I go, but the general idea is pretty much the same. :)


Ingredients
3 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice wine
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 star anise
1 tsp Chinese five spice (五香)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 thin slices ginger
2 stalks scallions, chopped
1/2 lb beef
bok choy, sour/pickled vegetables/酸菜, noodles as desired

1. Bring the water, soy sauce, rice wine to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the sugar, star anise, five spice, garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the scallions. Or do what my dad does - put the star anise, garlic, ginger, and scallions into a cheesecloth bag and tie it before putting them in the pot. That way, you don't have to strain it later. Simmer for about 20min.
2. Add the beef. Simmer until tender. I used stew beef, so it was already cut into 1-in cubes and didn't need to be cooked for as long (about 1.5hrs). When the beef is about done, add the bok choy briefly. Cook the noodles in a separate pot. Pick out the bok choy and put into a bowl along with the pickled greens, noodles, and the green parts of the scallions.
3. Take out the beef and when cooled a little, slice into thin pieces or bite-sized cubes (slices are better, but if you used chunks of beef to shorten the cooking time like I did, it's not so easy to slice). Put into bowl with noodles et al.
4. Strain the soup through a sieve/colander/cheesecloth. Discard the solids. Dilute with hot water and pour over the noodles. Enjoy!