Lanzhou Beef Soup with Hand-Pulled Noodles
- Jun 11, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 24, 2020
| By: Taylor Robinson |
While we’re currently in the midst of a pandemic, this recipe will allow you to dedicate time to a soup that brings comfort to even those who haven’t had the pleasure of trying the authentic recipe in the city of Lanzhou. While I haven’t yet experienced the phenomenon of traditional Lanzhou Beef Noodles myself, this recipe is a combination of a few recipes that claim to closely resemble the traditional preparation and rich flavors, in addition to my own creativity. The fragrant broth, paired with the fresh hand-pulled noodles and spicy chili oil, will provide a sense of freshness and achievement to your day. This recipe can be modified by the amount of servings you would like, whether you choose to make your own noodles, or use store bought noodles, and how rich you would like your broth. My hope is that this Lanzhou Beef Noodle soup will provide you an enriching experience of hand-pulled noodles and Chinese cuisine.
Ingredients
For the Lanzhou Beef Broth (6 servings):
4 pounds of beef bones (a variety is best, but whatever bones you can find work well)
2.5 pounds of beef meat (I used beef flank, but whatever is available – chuck, rib eye, brisket, etc.)
Water**
2 medium red onions
5 slices of ginger
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn***
4 pieces of star anise***
1.5 tsp of black peppercorn
2 tsp of cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1 tsp of fennel seeds
Scallions (to taste)
Cilantro (to taste)
For the Hand-Pulled Noodles (2 servings):
1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour (varies by type of flour, measuring by a 2:1 ratio is best and adjust water as necessary)
¼ tsp of salt
½ cup of water
Cooking oil (can use variety, I used vegetable oil)
For the Chili Oil (makes 2 ¼ cups):
1 ½ cups of oil (can use variety, I used vegetable oil)
5 pieces of star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
¾ cup of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp of salt to taste
Cooking Instructions
For the Lanzhou Beef Broth:
Wash 4 pounds of beef bones with cold water to remove any bone dust.
Place the beef bones and 2.5 pounds of beef round in cold water and place covered in the fridge to soak overnight.
The next day, you should notice the beef has less color and the water is now red; take your beef bones and wash again thoroughly with cold water and place in a clean, large cooking pot. You can remove the beef meat and place it in a clean container with cold water to continue soaking in the fridge while the bones cook.
Fill the large pot with the beef bones with water, cover, and place of the stove, bringing it to a boil. The amount of water is not important, as we will be emptying it later.
Once it begins to boil, impurities will collect on the top. After 10 minutes of boiling, empty the water and discard of the impurities.
Make sure to thoroughly wash your pot and remove any remaining impurities. Clean the beef bones again with cold water. Then, place the bones with 3-4 liters of water back into the clean pot, cover it, and place on the stove, bringing it back to a boil.
Once it is boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover again so that the lid is not completely covering the pot. Allow the broth to simmer on low heat for at least 3 hours.
During this time, I would advise making your chili oil or dough for the noodles while you wait. Please see the instructions below under Homemade Chili Oil and Homemade Hand-Pulled Noodles (once the dough is made, it will need to sit for 1.5 hours).
Once your broth has simmered for at least three hours, remove the meat from the fridge and add it to the broth. Keep this on low-simmer heat for 4 hours to allow the beef to cook in the rich flavor.
Take out the meat and place it in the fridge for later. If you notice oil or impurities on the top, you can remove them. Add your onion, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, black peppercorns, cumin, bay leaves, and fennel seeds now (this should be 1-2 hours before you plan on serving the soup). Allow the broth to continue to simmer until you are ready to serve the meal.
Sample the broth and add spices as necessary, depending on the length of time, personal preference, and the amount of water you used. You can also remove the beef from the fridge and slice, and dice cilantro and scallions for additional taste.
I noticed my broth was not as strong, given the amount of water added (~5L instead of 3-4L), so I added additional spices and a little bit of beef bouillon to enhance the flavor. Additionally, if you find your broth too strong, you can add water.
At this time, make the dough into noodles and bring a medium size pot of water to a boil. Begin pulling your noodles by following the steps continued in Homemade Hand-Pulled Noodles below.
I have included a video in the Bibliography that I found helpful to visualize the motion of pulling the noodles.
To add the broth, pour over a strainer into the bowl if you didn’t use a spice bag (as I didn’t). For each bowl of soup, add the desired amount of beef, chili oil, cilantro, and scallions.
To store the broth for later use, put it in a container with a little space at the top (to ensure it won’t crack), and store in the freezer for around 1.5 months, or the fridge for 2 days.
Enjoy your delicious soup!
For the Homemade Chili Oil:
To make the chili oil, combine and heat the oil, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves in a medium saucepan with medium-high heat. Be sure to watch carefully, as it is easily burned. I would recommend using a thermometer to maintain the temperature between 220-250 degrees F.
Allow the oil and spices to cook at this temperature for around 30 minutes, or until the seeds become a darkened – but not black – color. If at any point the oil begins to bubble, reduce to low heat then turn back up to medium-high.
Allow the oil to cool for 5 minutes and measure out, in a separate, heat safe bowl, add the crushed red pepper flakes and salt.
Once the oil is less hot, use a fine strainer to pour the oil over the red pepper flakes into the bowl, preventing the spices and seeds from getting into the chili oil.
When the oil is cooled, you can store anything you don’t use for your Lanzhou soup in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. But beware – this chili oil is very spicy, and I recommend beginning with a small amount if you are unsure!
For the Homemade Hand-Pulled Noodles:
Mix flour and salt thoroughly, then add water gradually and mixing with chopsticks or a spatula. Once there is no loose flour, knead the dough either with a mixer (low speed), or by hand to achieve a smooth dough. If kneading by hand, allow the dough to rest covered for ~10 minutes, then kneed again until very smooth.
Cut the dough into two equal parts, then flatten each piece to about ½ cm thick. Coat each piece with oil (I used vegetable oil), front and back, and place on a tray. Cover the tray with saranwrap and allow it to sit for at least 1.5 hrs.
Since the noodles only take a few minutes to cook, I would advise waiting until your soup is ready to pull and cook the noodles. This will allow for optimum freshness.
Once you are almost ready to serve your dish, I would recommend making the noodles so you can eat them immediately, when they are most fresh.
Take one piece of dough and cut into strips. Round, thin noodles should be thin (reference ~1 cm), but don’t need to be exact – just go with your preference.
To hand-pull the noodles, pick up one strip of dough on both ends, and gently pull to opposite directions. Simultaneously, you can bounce the noodle against the cooking surface to create consistency. Fold the noodle and repeat the motion until the desired noodle length/thickness. Repeat for rest of noodle strips.
Place the noodles into the boiling water. They will only need 1-2 minutes to cook. Remove the noodles and place into the bowl. I would recommend adding your broth right away (if you’re serving immediately), before moving onto the second bowl, as this preserves freshness and prevents the noodles from sticking.
If you choose not to serve immediately after cooking, rinse the noodles with cold water and add a few drops of sesame oil to prevent sticking. You can store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Notes
** - The recipe I used didn’t specify how much water, so depending on the serving size desired and flavor of broth, I used 5L and found I needed to add more spices to taste, but similar recipes include 3-4L
*** - For me, Sichuan peppercorn and star anise were more difficult to find at my local grocery store and more expensive. If they are unavailable, you can try crushed anise or extract, clove, or fennel seeds.
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