Chinese
Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup
Lanzhou beef noodle soup with clear spiced broth, hand-pulled noodles, tender beef, chile oil, radish, and cilantro.
6 servings · 90 minutes prep · 240 minutes cook
Ingredients
Broth
- 3 lb beef shank
- 2 lb beef bones
- 16 cups water
- 1 whole daikon, peeled and cut into thick rounds
- 8 pieces, thinly sliced
- 3 whole scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 whole orange peel
- to taste
Hand-Pulled Noodles
- 4 cups high-gluten flour
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp kansui baked baking soda
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
Garnishes
- 1 whole beef shank
- 1 whole daikon
- 1/2 cup chili oil
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 cup scallions
- 2 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar
- 2 cloves
Directions
Make and Strain the Beef Broth
- Rinse the beef shank and beef bones well. Cover with cold water in a large stockpot, bring to a boil, and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse the pot, and rinse the beef and bones.
- Return the blanched beef and bones to the pot with the water, daikon, 8 pieces of ginger, scallions, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, fennel seeds, white peppercorns, cloves, and orange peel.
- Bring to a bare simmer, skim thoroughly, and cook gently until the beef shank is tender but sliceable, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Season the broth with kosher salt to taste.
- Remove the beef shank and cool it slightly. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and keep it hot. Slice the cooked beef shank thinly across the grain.
Mix, Pull, and Cook the Noodles
- For the noodles, combine the high-gluten flour, water, kosher salt, and kansui or baked baking soda. Knead until smooth, rest for 30 minutes, knead again, then coat with the avocado oil and rest until extensible, about 1 hour.
- Pull or cut the rested dough into noodles. Boil in a separate pot of unsalted water until chewy and cooked through, 1-3 minutes depending on thickness, then drain.
Assemble the Bowls
- Divide the noodles among bowls. Ladle over hot broth, then add sliced beef, daikon, chili oil, cilantro, scallions, Chinkiang vinegar, and 2 garlic cloves to taste.
