Taiwanese beef noodle soup

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If you like noodles (and you maybe do if you're reading a site called noodleblog), don't sleep on the Taiwanese beef noodle soup. Seek it out from your nearest Asian eateries if you can. If not, definitely try this recipe out.  I've had this dish at a highly rated Taiwanese and a slightly lower rated but still great Chinese restaurant a few times, and this one I made in an instant pot comes pretty damn close. I'm going to start making this in a rotation, and freezing the broth just so I can use it more often.

Serves 4

You'll need:

  • 1 lb beef of choice - I used cubed stew meat from the grocery store for the broth but about 1/4 lb of thinly sliced bottom round for the single serving above
  • 1 medium head of leafy veg of choice, chopped up - I used bok choy
  • 1/2 sliced white onion
  • 1/4 head of green cabbage, diced into ~1 inch pieces or thin slices
  • 1/2 tomato
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tsp beef stock (or 2 cubes) - I used Better than Bouillon Roasted Beef paste
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp grated ginger (or paste)
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • 2-4 servings of noodles of choice - I used instant Maruchan ramen for the serving above, didn't want to open a bag of dry udon for 1 serving
Instructions:
  • in an instant pot or large pot, saute the onions and cabbage in a little oil until just starting to soften
  • add the beef and stir to cook a bit, add the tomato paste and cook for about 45 seconds
  • add the garlic, tomato, ginger, beef bouillon, soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper and stir
  • add the water, if 2 cups isn't enough, add more to cover the ingredients and stir well to combine
  • in the instant pot: cover and lock the lid, switch to pressure cook and cook for 45 minutes, let the instant pot release naturally for ~15 minutes instead of venting
  • in a pot: bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring and adding water as needed
  • cook the noodles according to the package instructions, add the chopped leafy veg when there's about 2 minutes left in the cook time
  • drain the noodles, separate into bowls with leafy veg, and pour the hot broth over
  • top with more pepper and some sesame seeds, and enjoy!


For a bit of backstory here, I made this yesterday to also use today. It made one dinner for two adults and a child yesterday, and one dinner for 1 adult and a child today. I used the 1 lb stew meat (London broil I think) to make the broth in the instant pot, and we had the meat and half the broth yesterday as soup with rice. Today I reheated the broth and simmered with 1/4 lb of sliced bottom round to make beef noodle soup for my son and I - and it was giant portion for me.