Beef noodle soup

What it is

Wheat noodles with chunks of beef stewed for hours in a red-braised, soy-based broth, usually topped with pickled mustard greens (suan cai) and spring onion. Many shops also serve the noodles dry, tossed in sauce. Cold sides such as braised dried tofu and seaweed are common.

Where it comes from

The red-braised version is said to have been created by Sichuanese Kuomintang veterans, which is why it is sometimes called 'Sichuan beef noodles' in Taiwan. The Taipei Times reports that essayist Lu Yao-tung suggested it may have begun in the military dependents' villages of Gangshan in Kaohsiung, where a spicy broad bean paste was first sold by an air force clerk who had learned to make it in Sichuan.

How it is made

Beef is stewed in a soy-based broth for a long time, and some cooks simmer the stock with bone marrow for more than 24 hours. Spicy broad bean paste (doubanjiang) is a key seasoning.

How to eat it

Have it for lunch or dinner, as soup or dry-tossed noodles, with a cold side dish or two.

In Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung's claim runs through Gangshan's bean paste, still one of that town's 'three treasures'. In Yancheng, Gang Yuan often sells out early in the evening, and its braised pork-trotter noodles are as popular as the beef.