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Chinese / Vietnamese Beef noodles

Source of Recipe

Own recipe


Recipe Introduction

Everyone has heard about pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodles) but in Malaysia, we have beef noodles too, either with tender beef strips /pieces or beef balls or even both if you liked. Sometimes we get delicious braised thripe with it. Wonderful! This is a good one pot dish for rainy and cold days. I used beef bones with marrow and skim off the oil on the top of stock. Apart from that I used shin beef too for extra beefy depth and flavour. You may include abit of oxtail bones to the stock too if you can get hold of some. You can do the stock the night before and then skim off the fat layer that congeals on top easily.

List of Ingredients

Serves 4-6 people.

Stock:

2 large beef bones with marrow
800g of shin beef
500g of oxtail (optional)
2 stalks of vietnamese coriander- optional but imperative to Vietnamese version

2 large onions- halved but with their skins on (this gives a golden colour to stock)

3 carrots cut into chunks - washed but unpeeled
3 large celery sticks- cut into huge chunks
2 inches of ginger- sliced
4 large cloves of garlic- unpeeled and bashed slightly
1 stick of cinnamon
2 pieces of star anise
1 TBSP of whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp of soya sauce

Beef Balls if wished:

700 g of minced lean beef steak
2 tsp of chinese corn flour
few drops of sesame oil
1 tsp of salt
some ground black pepper
6 TBSP of water

Noodles and veg garnishes:

1 packet of dried flat rice noodles

500 g of fresh bean sprouts- rinsed and pinch off the straggly thread like tails. This may be extra work but nothing is more disgusting than having the tails stuck between your teeth and spoil the enjoyment of the beansprouts itself. Then scald them in hot water for 30 seconds and set aside. TIP: Have a small bowl of water near you and as you pinch off the tails, rinse off your fingers in the bowl to get rid of them.

300g of fresh spinach leaves- washed and drained
1 bunch of watercrest- washed and drained
100g of spring greens- washed and slice into thin shreds

Herb garnishes:
some chopped coriander
some chopped spring onions
few stalks of parsley
crispy fried onions (optional)

For a touch of Vietnamese, add the following as well:
Some fresh dill- stalks and all, cut into 1 inch long
wedges of lime
chopped chillies
some fish sauce
some Vietnamese coriander- shredded thinly
Thinly sliced raw beef sirloin








Recipe

Method:

Stock:

First, in a large stock pot, put the bones (marrow and oxtail if using) with the onions, spices, soya sauce and veg. for the stock and fill with enough water to fill almost the top of pot. Leave about 4 inches of gap to avoid any overflow while reaching boiling temperature and to allow some room for the shin beef. Bring to boil without cover for about 10- 15 minutes before turning down the temperature to simmering point. Allow to simmer for about 40 minutes and skim off any noticable fat/oil and scum.

Then add the shin beef and cover and simmer for another 1 1/2 hour till the shin beef is very tender. Strain the stock and remove the spices, bones and vegetables. Skim off any layer of oil left. Taste the stock and season well to taste. Put the shin beef aside or in the fridge if you are making this the night before. Otherwise, keep stock hot whilst you prepare the noodles to serve. Shred the shin beef meat into pieces and put it back into hot stock to keep warm.

Beef Balls:

First mix the beef well with the sesame oil, corn flour and pepper using clean hands. Then mix the salt in the water and add 1 tsp at a time to the beef mixture while "kneading" it. Slap the mixture against the bowl to ensure the beef balls will have a springy texture. Repeat till the salt water is used up and the beef mixture has a good springy texture and well mixed. Now take about a tsp of mixture and roll into a nice ball. Put aside on a clean plate. Repeat till mixture is used up. Then drop into boiling stock 30 mins before serving. When cooked they will float.

Scald noodles in hot water till tender and then drain quickly. Rinse the noodles under cold running water to remove starch and then toss in alittle oil to ensure they don't stick together. Divide into medium sized bowls. Then put a bit of veggie, beef shin, raw beef slices (if using) and herbs on top. Then pour over hot boiling stock over them. The heat from the boiling stock will gently cook the raw thinly sliced beef till it is just pink. Scatter some crispy onions and fish sauce ontop if using.

Eat up while still hot. It is delicious. I always have a simple chopped chillies is soya sauce as a condiment for anyone who wants abit of heat, like I do! :)