My partner’s favorite Taiwanese dish is Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, and it’s no surprise—it’s a beloved comfort food among many of my Taiwanese friends as well. What makes it stand out is its rich, complex flavor: a hint of sweetness from carrots and rock sugar, a subtle tang from tomatoes, and just the right touch of spice. Paired with pickles, it creates a perfect balance of flavors.
Unlike Cantonese beef noodle soup, which highlights deep, savory notes by simmering beef with radish and dried seafood like scallops and shrimp, or Korean Galbitang, which features radish, onions, black pepper, glass noodles, and egg, Taiwanese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup offers a unique blend of sweet, sour, and mildly spicy goodness that’s hard to resist.
RECIPE
- 1-2lb beef shanks, the boneless beef short rib cuts are the best 牛坑腩
- ginger slices
- a few cloves garlic
- 1/2 onion or a few shallot
- 1 carrot
- 2 tomatoes
- cooking wine
- 2 rock candies
- 1tbsp spicy bean paste 豆瓣酱
- ~5 dried or fresh chili peppers
- 2 small star anise
- a bunch of szechuan peppercorns
- 5 bay leaves
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- (if needed) soy sauce
- (if needed) dark soy sauce
- (if needed) oyster sauce
STEP 1: let beef chunks sit in water for 2+ hours or overnight to get the blood out
STEP 2: add oil to a pan, over medium heat, pan fry onion, ginger slices and garlic cloves till they have golden
STEP 3: add in 2 rock candies, cook and let it melt slowly
STEP 4: add in beef chunks, do not stir and let them become brown/golden on one side before flipping
STEP 5: add a tbsp of spicy bean paste, 2 star anise, 5 bay leaves, 2 cinnamon sticks, a bunch of Szechuan peppercorn, a few dried chili peppers to the pan, stir fry till fragrance releases
STEP 6: add in tomato and carrot chunks
STEP 7: add in HOT WATER till it is ~2 inches above all ingredients. bring to boil for 1-2mins, turn it back down to medium-low heat, cook for 2 hours
STEP 8: taste the soup, add soy sauce, oyster sauce if not salty enough; but the bean paste should be fairly salty already
STEP 9: in another pot, cook noodle or other veggies of choice for a few minutes
STEP 10: combine noodle, veggies and beef broth
READY TO SERVE!
