Spiced Beef and Noodle Soup

Name: Spiced Beef and Noodle Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns; 150 g fresh Hokkien noodles; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon castor sugar; ¼ small Chinese cabbage, cut into 2-cm dice; 1 shallot, finely sliced; 1 tablespoon shao xing; 8 cups water; 250 g beef brisket; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1 whole star anise; 4 tablespoons peanut oil; 1 tablespoon minced garlic; 2 tablespoons light soy sauce; 1 tablespoon hot bean paste; 4 slices ginger

Preparation info

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Simply Asian

By Neil Perry

Published 2000

About

This is a very simple Szechuan-style soup, enriched by hot bean paste and given a nice lift by the addition of Szechuan peppercorns.

Ingredients

1 whole star anise
1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon

Asia
China
Soup
Szechuan

Method

Wrap the star anise, peppercorns, fennel seeds and cinnamon sticks in a small square of muslin. Put this, with the beef, into a medium-sized pot and cover with the water. Bring to the boil, simmer for 15 minutes, skimming the surface of any impurities, and then turn down to a very slow simmer and cook for 1½-2 hours or until tender.

With a slotted spoon, lift out the beef, shred and set