TAIWANESE BEEF NOODLE SOUP NIÚRÒU MIÀN

“This is the national dish of Taiwan. What makes it uniquely Taiwanese is the ‘red roasting’ (braising with soy sauce) used on the beef. The initial acidic sharp flavour of the sauce softens, replaced with a toasted aroma, introducing a new fragrance and flavour. More of a noodle dish that contains some soup, this is a popular street food served in a bag to go. Serve hot.”

SERVES 4 Preparation: 20 min Cooking: 2 hours oil 3 large onions, diced 5 garlic cloves, pressed 100g fresh ginger, thickly sliced 4 spring onions, chopped 8 star anise 1kg beef shank or shin, cut into chunks (keep the bones) 250ml (1c) low-sodium soy sauce 4 large carrots, thickly sliced 4 plum tomatoes or 150g rosa tomatoes, skinned 15ml (1T) Chinese five-spice 60ml (¼c) orange juice 1,25 litres (5c) water 1 packet (300g) egg noodles salt chopped chilli OPTIONAL EXTRAS 60ml (¼c) rice wine 5-60ml (1t-¼c) brown sugar bok choy handful of chopped fresh coriander 1 spring onion, chopped

1 In a soup pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil and sauté the onions until golden. 2 Add the garlic, ginger, spring onions and star anise and cook until the onions are golden brown. Set aside in a bowl. 3 Drizzle more oil into the pot and add the beef (and bones – they add rich flavour). Fry until the meat has browned. 4 Add a dash of soy sauce and continue to fry for 2 minutes, adding more soy sauce to “red roast” the beef. 5 Add the carrots, tomatoes, Chinese five-spice and orange juice (and rice wine and sugar, if using) and stir. 6 Return the onion mix to the pot and add the water to cover the ingredients. 7 Boil for 5 minutes, then simmer for 1½ to 2 hours. You may need to top up the water. Leave a wooden spoon in the soup to stop it boiling over and cover the pot. 8 Boil the egg noodles. Add a drop of oil to the water to keep the strands from sticking to each other and the pot. Rinse the noodles in cool water to keep them chewy. 9 Blanch the bok choy in a separate pot (if using). 10 Season the soup with salt and chilli. 11 Put a handful of noodles in a serving bowl, ladle in the soup and some meat (and add the bok choy). 12 Garnish with coriander and spring onion (if using).