Taiwan

Menu: Beef shank noodle soup & bubble tea| Recipe Source: thewoksoflife.com and foxyfolksy.com

Beef shank, ginger, garlic, onions, chiles, soy, and chewy wheat noodles. Those are the bones of niu rou mian, the meaty noodle soup that’s earned the well-deserved honor of being 1) Taiwan’s national dish 2) the latest addition to my “Top Five Best Dishes from this Project” list. The secret ingredient that elevates niu rou mian over the plethora of other, less-exciting beef soups is the magic* spice sachet that simmers in the broth for 3-4 hours. Bay leaves, a cinnamon stick, black and Sichuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and fennel are tucked into a tiny cloth pouch, tied with a bow**, and then plucked out at the end of cooking. The result? Impeccably tender beef, soft, slide-y noodles, and an aromatic broth that’s absolutely to die for.

Bubble tea has been one of my favorite drinks ever since my mom first convinced me to try it in high school. The classic brown sugar version that’s so popular in Taiwan is sweet, creamy, malty, and shockingly simple to make (10 minutes from start to finish!). While the recipe I followed contained instructions for making your own homemade boba pearls, I used pre-made brown sugar boba from HMart since I had my hands full making the soup.

*This claim has not been verified by the FDA

**An optional touch of whimsy/witchcraft

Ready to cook?

Niu Rou Mian/Beef Shank Noodle Soup (link): Because much of the weight of the 3lbs of beef shank is taken up by bones, I chose to supplement the shank with an additional 1.5lbs of beef chuck. I subbed 6 of the 8 cups of water for chicken broth, used a grater on the garlic and ginger instead of crushing them, skipped the whole tomato, used fresh red chilis, and made the spice sachet myself! I could have sworn that I had fennel seeds in my pantry but I couldn’t find the jar anywhere, so I ended up using caraway seeds instead and it was still delicious.

Bubble Tea (link): I used pre-made brown sugar boba from HMart and used full fat oat milk instead of regular milk, but otherwise, I followed this exactly.