So.

Who's up for a thread on how to make my mom's beef noodles tonight?

First, grab your aromatics: a handful of smashed garlic cloves, some sliced ginger, and three scallions, cut to 2" lengths.

Now we're gonna do the spice mix. Some Sichuan pepper/hua jiao:

2 star anise pods or so:

1-2 cloves (I used 2)

Some parts of a cinnamon stick (I...do not know how to measure this properly, like all Chinese mothers, measurements are 4 losers with my mom).

3-4 slices of licorice root/gan cao

1 tsaoko/Chinese black cardamom:

and finally (also optionally), a piece of dried orange peel:

My mom has these teabag like pouches that you can stuff them in. They should be available at Asian groceries. If not, a tea ball will also do.

That is, stuffing the spices inside the pouch.

Now, the beef. Mom goes for petite boneless steak/top blade steak. Other recipes have mentioned shank. Just get beef that's got good marbling and is good for cooking low and slow. You'll want about a pound of that or so. Cut it into 2 inch cubes.

Get some oil into a pot, over high heat. When it's ready, toss in your aromatics and saute them until they're fragrant and the scallions go bright and limp.

Add:

the beef
about 1 tbsp of dou ban jiang
about 1 tbsp of dou ban la*
a glug of soy sauce
a glug of rice wine
about 2 tsps of rock sugar

stir it around. mix it up good, wait for it to boil.

*so the way I've grown up, there is dou ban jiang and dou ban la. dou ban jiang is by default, not spicy, but I hear this is a Taiwanese thing.

also, I have very low spice tolerance. as in "but you're Asian, how is this bothering you" low. so add more dou ban la if you want.

anyway, once everything's boiling, pour in 3-4 cups of water and a beef bouillon cube. or you can do what I did and use a teaspoon of Better than Bouillon, the results will turn out the same.

bring everything to a boil again, and then add your spice packet. turn it down to low, cover it, and simmer for 45 minutes. taste to see if it's salty enough (you want it saltier because of the noodles). add another glug or two of soy sauce to calibrate if you need to.

Once the soup's to your liking, cover it and let it sit overnight to let the flavors mingle. The next day, cook up some noodles, blanch some greens in the noodle water, reheat the soup, and now it's time to eat!

You can also add chili oil and/or pickled mustard greens. I am a heathen and dislike pickled mustard greens, so I opt for the blanched greens instead.

Also, just so you all know: my mom told me that you can freeze the leftover soup.