This nation’s perfect noodle soup is a labour of love

The dish

Taiwanese beef noodle soup

Plate up

Beef noodle soup can mean many things to many people, from pho in Vietnam to Lanzhou noodles in China. If you mention beef noodle soup in Taiwan, however, it can mean only one thing: a large bowl of intense, heady flavours, a perfect balance of umami, salty and sweet, and a local favourite that in just 50 or so years has worked its way to the status of national dish.

The creation of Taiwanese beef noodle soup is laborious: first, a base stock is made with bones and root vegetables. That broth is then spiked with fermented bean paste, caramelised onions, sugar, soy, rice wine, tomatoes, and ginger and green onions fried in oil. Beef shank, and sometimes cheek or ribs, are added and simmered for hours until they have a perfectly tender bite. To assemble, begin with thin wheat noodles similar to Japanese ramen, then add hunks of simmered beef, some tripe, a ladle of powerful stock and finally, chopped green onions and pickled mustard greens.

First serve

The idea for Taiwanese beef noodle soup is thought to have come across from the Sichuan province of China with fleeing Kuomintang veterans in the 1950s. Back then, beef wasn’t traditionally eaten in Taiwan – cattle were beasts of burden, not food – and even into the 1970s beef noodle soup wasn’t popular, and was mostly confined to military dependents’ villages (housing for soldiers and their families). Over time, however, an appetite for beef evolved, as did the soup recipe, with less spice and more balanced sweetness than the Sichuan version.

Order there

This is considered Taiwan’s national dish, so you will find it served everywhere. One of the best, however, is at Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles in Taipei.

Order here

In Sydney, give this hearty dish a whirl at Sunflower Taiwanese Gourmet (147 Broadway). In Melbourne, try Taiwan Cafe in West Melbourne (instagram.com/taiwancafe.melbourne). And in Brisbane, head to Yuan Bao in Sunnybank Hills.

One more thing

Taiwanese beef noodle soup is also popular in mainland China, where it is distinct from its predecessor in Sichuan – though here, it’s sometimes known as “red-braised beef noodle soup”, or occasionally as “California beef noodle soup”.