chinese | MishFish13

Now that I live off-campus, I’ve realized how much I crave home cooking. I didn’t miss it while living off of dining hall food, but that’s probably because they distracted me with differently disguised fat.

While I’m trying to eat a balanced, temporarily-omnivorous diet (earlier this week I realized that I haven’t been eating enough protein), I try to find recipes that are more protein-based rather than carb-based. The good thing about this recipe is that it can be tweaked to reflect either!

Thankfully, my grandma’s taught me the Authentic Chinese Beef Noodle Soup recipe! And because I’m such a savvy cook (ha. ha.) I can cook this for myself anytime! I usually try not to eat red meat though, so maybe not.

: (c) Chinese Grandma
Careful now, CG, there’s a new grandma on the block.

Chinese Beef Noodle Soup has always been a favorite dish of mine. Usually, Asian dishes are meant for everyone, to be shared and paired with a bowl of rice. However, when you ordered a bowl of Chinese Beef Noodle Soup, people knew you were serious about gettin’ your grub on. How could I have packed on the fat if not for this?

It’s simple and easily replicated so that you don’t have to go to a Chinese restaurant to get your Beef Noodle Soup fix! The next time you go to a Chinese restaurant, you can focus your taste buds on trying new dishes!

THE RECIPE

Serving size: 4-5

Ingredients:

: ingredients: before

Beef Shank [2 lb, chopped into pieces, usually large bite sizes. Remember: the smaller the piece, the quicker it cooks!]
Green Onion/Scallion [1 bunch, ends trimmed, chopped in half]
Garlic [1 whole bulb, peeled. You can choose to chop in large chunks]
Soy Bean Paste [1.5 tbsp]
Star anise [8 pieces] (optional)
Soy Sauce
Salt
Ginger [peeled, sliced 1/2 stem]
Sugar
Bacardi [2 ladles] (grandma’s special kick)

Healthy:

bunch of spinach

Directions:

Cover the bottom of the pot with vegetable oil and place garlic, ginger, and green onion in to sauté until the garlic is browned. Add the soy bean paste and stir, making sure it is evenly distributed.
Grandma: “Browning the garlic makes the flavor come out. Smells good, right?”
Add the beef shank pieces and stir, adding the 2 ladles of Bacardi in while doing so.
As the beef is browning on the outside, first add 2-3 ladles of soy sauce. Then 2 tbsp of sugar.
Grandma: “Taste it to see if you like it!”
Me: But… the beef isn’t fully cooked ye—ok.
Add 4 cups of water, or however much gives you the ratio of meat to soup that you like. Add a few more ladles of soy sauce, to taste. If still not to taste, or, if you’re a poor college student like me, add some salt because that soy sauce ain’t cheap. And we don’t use it often enough to get the huge Chinese family economy size.