Slow Cooker Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

A deeply savory and aromatic beef noodle soup with fall-apart tender beef, star anise, and a complex broth, perfect for slow cooking.

Instructions

1. 1.

   Blanch the beef shank: Place the beef pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Boil for 5-7 minutes to remove impurities. Drain the beef, rinse thoroughly under cold water, and set aside.

2. 2.

   Brown the beef: Heat the neutral cooking oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the blanched beef shank pieces in a single layer, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Sear until deeply browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes per batch. Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker insert.

3. 3.

   Sauté aromatics: In the same skillet with residual oil, add the sliced ginger, smashed garlic, and roughly chopped green onions (white and light green parts). Sauté for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the Doubanjiang and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly and becomes very aromatic.

4. 4.

   Deglaze: Pour in the Shaoxing wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute until the alcohol evaporates. Remove from heat.

5. 5.

   Combine in slow cooker: Add the sautéed aromatics and Doubanjiang mixture to the slow cooker with the browned beef. Stir in the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, star anise pods, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, dried red chilies (if using), and tomato wedges. Pour in the beef broth. Add enough water to just cover the beef if the broth isn't sufficient.

6. 6.

   Slow cook: Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the beef is fall-apart tender.

7. 7.

   Finish the broth: Once cooked, carefully remove the star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and dried chilies (if desired) from the broth. Skim off any excess fat from the surface of the soup using a ladle or spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and white pepper as needed.

8. 8.

   Prepare noodles and bok choy: Just before serving, cook the fresh wide wheat noodles according to package directions in a separate pot of boiling water. In the last minute of noodle cooking, add the baby bok choy to the pot to blanch until tender-crisp. Drain the noodles and bok choy.

9. 9.

   Serve: Divide the cooked noodles and bok choy among four large serving bowls. Ladle a generous amount of the beef and rich broth over the noodles. Garnish generously with fresh chopped green onions and cilantro. Serve immediately.