Momma Wong’s beef noodle soup
Prep: 40 minutes Cook: 2 ½ hours Makes: 10 servings
For the noodles, Momma Wong recommends Wu-Mu brand dry wheat noodles (medium), but you can use angel hair pasta or spaghetti if those aren’t available.
2 2-inch pounds pieces beef tendon, cut in 1- to
1 golf ball-size knob fresh ginger, unpeeled, thinly sliced
2 star anise 2 black cardamom pods 3 tablespoons rice wine 4 beefsteak tomatoes
2 pounds beef heel meat, cut in 1- to 2-inch chunks
¼ cup vegetable oil
4 medium onions, cut in half, then cut in thirds
4 tablespoons garlic soybean paste
2 tablespoons spicy chile crisp or chile oil with black beans
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup lump sugar (also known as rock sugar)
6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled (optional)
3 tablespoons ketchup Garnish: Noodles, cooked, drained
6 heads baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise, blanched
1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tendons; cover. When the water boils again, turn off the heat. The tendons should have changed color and should be hard to the touch.
2 Drain the tendons; rinse in warm water. Place tendons in a pressure cooker (such as a 6-quart Instant Pot); add cold water just to cover, about 6 cups, plus the ginger, star anise, cardamom pods and rice wine. Seal the pressure cooker; set for 1 ½ hours, and start. Once the cooking time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally, 25 to 28 minutes. (Alternatively, simmer in water to cover until softened, about 6 hours.)
3 Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Score the bottoms of tomatoes with an X; dip into a pot of boiling water to blanch them, about 30 seconds. Transfer tomatoes to an ice bath. Remove skins; cut each tomato into eighths.
4 Bring about 2 inches water to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add heel meat; cook, stirring occasionally, until water returns to a boil. Remove from heat. Drain meat; rinse with warm water. Transfer meat to a bowl.
5 Return pot to stovetop over high heat. Add the oil and onions. Cook, covered, 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes; cook, covered until tomatoes are soft and the onions start to turn translucent, 10 minutes. Add the soybean paste, chile crisp or oil and ¼ cup of the soy sauce. Stir in the lump sugar. Reduce heat to medium.
6 Add the heel meat; stir well so that the sauce coats the meat. If you’re using the eggs, add them now. Cover and cook, about 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup. Cook, covered, until the onions are softened, 2-3 minutes.
7 Once tendons have finished cooking and you have released pressure in the pressure cooker, pour sauce and heel meat mixture into the pressure cooker insert with the tendons; stir. Add remaining ¼ cup soy sauce. Seal and pressure cook, 30 minutes. (Add an additional 30 minutes if you would like more tender heel meat.) Release pressure naturally.
8 To serve, slice the eggs in half. Place noodles in bowls; top with the soup. Garnish with bok choy and an egg half.
Nutrition information per serving (without noodles): 549 calories, 19 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 167 mg cholesterol, 32 g carbohydrates, 22 g sugar, 67 g protein, 1,543 mg sodium, 7 g fiber