Its been a week. Last week I got hit with the stomach bug and that was definitely not my cup of tea. It knocked me on my butt for a good three days but thankfully, I have kicked the bug to the curb and I’m finally able to enjoy real food again.
You truly don’t miss real food until you can only eat saltines, rice, chicken, and boring, bland food, haha – it was rough. I was craving everything under the sun but I knew I had to let my body run its course before introducing crazy foods back into my system.
Back during Black Friday, the Instant Pot had a ridiculous deal. I bought one (which I haven’t unboxed yet because we are moving soon and I truly do not have any more space in the kitchen for another appliance) and can’t wait to use it.
My mom has been the biggest fan of pressure cookers for as long as I can remember. I remember her using one when we were really young and throwing racks of ribs into the pressure cooker when she got home from work around 5pm and us having the most tender, flavorful, and fall off the bone ribs for dinner. She would make the most amazing meat dishes in the pressure cooker and she has been telling me for about seven years now to get one.
I have always 1. been afraid of them and 2. kept saying I didn’t have kitchen space. Two of those points are still very valid; I’m still afraid of them because I just envision the entire thing blowing up (which I know that’s not really possible) and I definitely don’t have any more kitchen space hence why we are moving.
However, I am thrilled to be able to use a pressure cooker very soon because the amount of time this would save us in the evenings is pretty much right up my alley.
AND THEN…my mom told me you can make Taiwanese beef noodle soup in the pressure cooker and I about lost my mind. I don’t know why I never thought to do such thing (probably because I never thought I’d really own a pressure cooker) but ever since she made it for me one weekend, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
I LOVE Taiwanese beef noodle soup. The best is eating it in Taiwan. And it’s crazy but it’s wildly popular there year-round. Yes, I vividly remember going to the market with my parents and going to these stalls with lines of people getting beef noodle soup for lunch and then sitting on benches in suits/dress clothes slurping away in like 90 degree heat with humidity. WORTH IT.
Jason had his first authentic Taiwanese beef noodle soup when we went to Taiwan and he loved it. He loves when my mom makes it and he’s so excited that we can make it in the pressure cooker soon.
Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds bone-in beef shank
- 1 large onion, quartered
- 2 tomatoes, quartered
- 3-4 peeled garlic cloves
- 1 piece of large ginger, sliced into large thin pieces
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
- 3 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3-4 dried Thai red chilies, optional
- 1-2 pounds Asian noodles, depends on how much soup vs. noodle ratio you like
- Green onions, for topping
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil then blanch the beef shanks. You don't want to cook them all the way through, just about 2-3 minutes. This allows the impurities to get cooked off. Remove the beef shanks and discard the water with the impurities.
- Add the beef shanks to the pressure cooker then add the remaining ingredients. You DON'T need to add water because the beef naturally releases water throughout the cooking process.
- Using the meat preset (or similar), pressure cook the beef. With my mom's pressure cooker, she had to run the meat preset twice. If this confuses you, just pressure cook it for 25-26 minutes.
- In the meantime, cook the noodles and divide evenly into bowls.
- Once the pressure cooker is done and pressure is released, add meat and soup on top of noodles.
Andrew
Tuesday 14th of April 2020
This looks great! Are these rice noodles? I can't find anything like that around these parts.
Julie Wampler
Monday 20th of April 2020
I think my mom used udon noodles actually
Sue
Saturday 11th of April 2020
Possible to use stew beef instead of shank?
Julie Wampler
Tuesday 14th of April 2020
You could but I think it might end up being a little dry. Not sure, I haven't tried with stew beef.
Elizabeth
Wednesday 25th of March 2020
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It reminds me so much of my parents who have both passed away. I’ve always wanted to try making this but never thought it would be the same. Well, this was amazing and my husband said he even thinks it’s better than my parents’. So thank you for the recipe and allowing me to pass this down to my kids as well.
Lisa
Monday 25th of November 2019
Hey Julie! Added a little bit of chicken broth (couldn't do mirin or any alcool since I am prego! I know it doesn't really matter since it's cooked but still haha!) to make the broth more liquid and also cooked for 52 min! After 26 min, my beef was still pretty hard but it depends on your beef as well. It was honestly delicious!!!
Sugar
Sunday 14th of July 2019
We made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. There was about enough soup for two people, which was fine, but usually I like cooking a little leftovers. There was way more meat than two people could finish in one meal. The flavor was pretty good, but it was missing something. We tried to add salt but it didn’t really help. I’ve seen other recipes add more spices and bean paste and also brown the aromatics before pressure cooking. I think I’ll try playing with that next time. I do like learning that you don’t need to add water tho. Pretty cool trick to make a very dense broth.