Recipe source: Lady and Pups' Taiwan Niu Rou Mien
Broth was made a few days prior using the recipe stated here. Only difference was that I had only one chicken carcass lying around, and instead of beef shank bones, I used the bones attached to the beef short ribs I bought for this soup. When describing this broth making to my mom, she disapproved of 1. the pork feet because of the fattyness (she's right on that one. but so tasty) and 2. combining the bones of different animals in one broth. I dunno. It was tasty.
The broth chilled in the fridge (haha) for a few days, and when I pulled it out today, it was SOLID. Fat on top, gelatinous brothiness underneath. Jiggles when you push on it. Kinda neat.
Behold! The poorly lighted spread of ingredients (minus spices. and green onions and garlic)!
The bowl of gook in the foreground is the paste mix (satay sauce, fermented chili bean paste, tomato paste, and curry powder).
Overall, followed this recipe pretty closely..I guess I could try this "commentary on the recipe" style until I find a format that works.
Dice the beef into 2″ x 2″ (5 x 5 cm) cubes, and divide them into 2 batches (for easy browning). Heat up a dutch oven or in my case, a wok on medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil, 1 batch of beef cubes and 1 tsp of raw sugar. Flip them occasionally and let the beef and sugar brown and caramelize on all sides. Take the first batch out onto a plate, and repeat the same step with the second batch until all browned as well. Then take all the beef cubes out and set aside.
To save washing extra pot, I cooked everything in the stockpot. This step went pretty well, except for this part:
Should really invest in some long cooking chopsticks.
Add 3 tbsp of oil into the same pot, and add the jumbo scallions, ginger and 1 tsp of raw sugar. Leave them toasting in the pot on medium-high heat until they become very caramelized (almost seem a bit burnt). During this time, cut the onion in half and toast them over open fire on the stove until charred, then set a side. Once the scallions and gingers are caramelized, add the onion and garlics. Saute for a couple minutes more.
Used a bunch of green onions. That's the same thing as scallions, right? Also do not have an open flame to char an onion on, and didn't feel like turning on the oven.
Add the paste mix and saute until fragrant and the paste has darken in color, approx 2~3 min. Add the aromatic herbs now if you are assembling your own (add them later if you are using store-bought packets). Saute for another couple of minutes, then transfer EVERYTHING including the beef cubes into a pressure cooker or a large stock pot (or if you started with a big enough dutch oven then just stay with it). If there’s brown bits on the bottom of the pot, deglaze with 1/4 cup of water and add to the pot as well.
1/4 tsp of five spice powder would have gone into the pot at this point. Forgot to buy some, but hey, it's only a 1/4 tsp! It's probably not essential!
Add the seasonings and let it boil for a couple of seconds, then add 5 1/2 cup of stock. oops I forgot but you should add the tomato (cut in half) at this point. It is now crucial to taste-test the seasonings. Taste the soup now. It should be fairly salty (too salty to drink as a soup) with a SLIGHTEST (almost untraceable) hint of sweetness just to balance it off. If the saltiness seems too “sharp” and unrefined, add more rock sugar. If it’s a bit too bland (in this case “drinkable” as a soup), add more soy sauce. I ended up adding 1/8 cup more of soy sauce to my pot (but with a less salty brand of soy sauce, it could be more).
Actually followed the steps to the letter here. Who woulda thunk.
Put the pressure cooker lid on and bring to a “hiss” on high heat, then turn it down to medium-low and cook for 1 hour (reduce the cooking time to 45 min if using shortribs). If you are doing it on the stove-top, simmer for 2~2:30 hours.
Don't own a pressure cooker. Decided to simmer it for a nice round 3 hours. That means the meat will be more tender, right? right?
Open the lid once the pressure’s completely release and check the done-ness of the beef. If they are still tough, keep cooking (lid on) for another 30 min. Prepare another large pot and rest a sieve on top of the pot. Strain everything through the sieve into another pot. Carefully pick out the beef cubes without breaking them, then use a wooden spoon to press VERY HARD on the scraps to extract every drop of juice left in them. You’d be surprise how much it is. Discard the scraps. Return the beef cubes back into the soup and add 1 tsp of rice vinegar, then dissolve the unsweetened peanut butter into the pot (or through a strainer if the peanut butter is chunky). I find that an extra 1 tbsp of uncooked tomato paste, dissolved in the end, adds a good layer of depth.
So I didn't have a second pot to strain into, so I took a ladle and scooped stuff into the sieve and squished it to press all the soup out. Definitely missed some stuff though, Dale ate some sichuan peppercorns later. He suggested I use the rice pot next time as a receptacle for strained soup. Duly noted.
To serve it, cook your favorite noodles (I like the fat ones) and dilute the soup with 1 : 1/2 as the ratio of braised beef soup: unsalted stock. So with 1 cup of braised beef soup, add 1/2 cup of unsalted stock. This would still yield a slightly salty soup but that’s how I like it. Or you could simply use the braised beef soup only as a sauce in the “dry noodle” version.
The stove setup.
I used a 1:1/2 ratio for myself while Dale requested a 1:1/3 ratio. I thought the 1:1/2 ratio was good, the 1:1/3 ratio was quite thicker and oilier, but Dale liked it.
MUST ADD spring onions and pickled cabbage. That’s not even negotiable.
Oops, I used all of the spring onions in the soup. But I did saute the pickled mustard greens (didn't have sake, subbed in cooking rice wine)
Dale gives it two thumbs up! Even a vegetarian thought this looks delicious!
P.S. I gave my first haircut on him while the soup was cooking.
