A delicious first course that we really liked, a simple Chinese noodle soup. This is really prepared simply, we are convinced. A rich beef broth is best if it is a tenderloin, ready-made purchased Chinese noodles made from wheat or rice flour, many different spices for the broth – they are on sale. Slightly spicy noodles with beef are poured with broth and served in a very original way before serving.
In China, noodles with meat, chicken, other additions, or even just vegetables – perhaps one of the most common types of street food, is very popular, and it is difficult to count how many types there are. one of the most satisfying options is beef soup with noodles. it is a bit exotic, in our understanding, it is prepared using a very rich broth from the highest quality meat with the addition of soy sauce.
Noodles are one of China’s “gifts” to the world, although it is customary to call them pasta. If you do not focus on similar types that are popular in the world, Chinese noodles are narrow and rather long strips of dough made from wheat rice or other flour. Only flour and water, the most popular of all is fresh, freshly cooked noodles, although we buy dry wheat noodles, which are quite suitable to make beef soup.
Here it is convenient to use mechanical devices for rolling and cutting thin layers of dough. So you can prepare the dough for soup paten, lagan, other soups or just for boiling and serving with sauce. if you cook main dishes, for example, meat with noodles, it is better to boil strips of dough in broth, it is exceptionally tasty.
What noodles to buy for soup
There are many types of dry preparations of very high quality on sale. Buy wheat or rice noodles without eggs and spices in the composition – the most common. it is packaged in bags of 300 grams, and inside it is divided into portions and bundles of narrow and thin dried dough of almost white color, wrapped with tape.
Chinese noodle soup is not prepared according to the “all in one pot” principle. Meat broth is prepared for a long time using beef tenderloin or the best and tender meat. The process of preparing the broth is something like a stew in wine – beef with soy sauce. As a result, not only delicious meat is obtained, but also a lot of broth, which is filled with prepared meat with noodles. For the recipe and help, thanks to my daughter.
How to make Chinese noodle soup
To cook the most delicious soup with beef and noodles, you need the best meat. Ideal cut. But you can use not tough and lean meat of good quality. In extreme cases, meat can be cleaned of films, cartilage and connective tissue. The broth will turn out good, although the meat in the dish will be a little harsh.
Chinese noodles are usually spicy and slightly spicy. The sharpness is light, it is adjustable. But the abundance of fragrant spices is the rule. Chinese dishes use many simple spices and mixtures of complex composition. In addition, most dishes contain soy sauce, which often replaces salt and provides the characteristic color and flavor of the dish.
Wash and clean beef tenderloin. Then cut into large pieces across the fibers – into medallions. In a saucepan in which soup with beef and noodles will be cooked, or a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil – sunflower, olive or corn. Add whole peeled garlic cloves, half a chili pod, 2-3 pieces of the white part of green onions. Fry 2-2.5 min. Then add 1 tbsp. l. brown sugar – Chinese noodle soup has a slightly sweet taste.
As soon as the sugar mixes with the butter and begins to caramelize, put all the prepared pieces of meat in one layer. Then add 2 tbsp. l. dark soy sauce and 50 ml sweet wine or mirin. Beef with soy sauce should sweat for 4-5 minutes.
All spices must be folded into a sachet bag or tied in a knot in a piece of clean cloth. Also add 5-6 Sichuan peppercorns and 2-3 allspice, a couple of cinnamon sticks, a whole nutmeg, a pinch of anise or fennel seeds, some dry galangal and 1-2 star anise. Tie the bag tightly.
If the meat was cooked in a skillet, transfer it to the pan. Put a bag of spices in there. Chinese noodle soup is prepared for four, so pour 2 liters of water into the pan – this is enough. Add 2 tbsp. l. light soy sauce. Put the pot on fire.
Boil soup with soy sauce for at least 2 hours. The boil should be weak. No broth bubbling. The meat will cook perfectly, become soft and soaked with the taste and aroma of the broth. By and large, this process is more like stewing than boiling. If you like, you can add the other half of the “chili” to the broth, this will increase the heat, although it will not make the soup with beef and noodles too hot. This is optional.
When time has passed, and the beef is cooked, pull it out and temporarily put it aside. So that the meat does not dry out, cover it with something. The cabbage should be boiled a little in the broth – the soup with noodles is then cooked without heat treatment.
You can use pack choy – they also say bock choy. In principle, Beijing cabbage, a few leaves of roman lettuce or any juicy and fleshy cabbage or lettuce leaves are suitable. Tear the cabbage with your fingers into fairly large shreds. The time of boiling the leaves is 2-3 minutes, no more is needed.
At the same time, cook Chinese noodles in a separate saucepan. Ready time is always indicated on the packaging. Boil in plain water. Unlike Italian pasta, Chinese noodles are cooked until completely soft, not even a subtle hardness should be felt in it.
