Hainan consists of one main, and several smaller islands and is known as the tropical paradise of China. Hainanese beef noodles is one of the dishes that defines the region and it, as well as many others, have spread in popularity over southeast Asia. This style of the dish with a thick, salty and fragrant sauce is very popular in Singapore.
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Hainanese-Style Beef Noodles
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 1/2 hours
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
1½ lb (750 g) Beef Brisket, Point Portion (Pot Roast), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes
½ cup (125 mL) Shaoxing wine
2 bay leaves
½ tsp (2 mL) whole Sichuan peppercorns
¼ cup (60 mL) thinly sliced gingerroot (unpeeled)
4 large green onions, Welsh onions or small leeks (see Tip*), trimmed
3 tbsp (45 mL) dark soy sauce
2 tbsp (30 mL) light soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) EACH salt and granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) MSG (optional)
¼ cup (60 mL) potato starch or cornstarch
¼ cup (60 mL) cold water
To Serve
2 cups (500 mL) bean sprouts
1 lb (500 g) fresh rice vermicelli noodles
2 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup (125 mL) loosely packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup (60 mL) coarsely crushed peanuts
¼ cup (60 mL) coarsely chopped sour pickled mustard greens
4 tsp (20 mL) minced garlic
2 tsp (10 mL) toasted sesame seeds
4 calamansi limes, cut in half
Instructions
- Beef: Place beef in a pot and add water to cover by about 3 inches (8 cm). Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and boil for 5 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the top. Drain and rinse under cold, running water. Clean the pot.
- Return beef to the pot; add Shaoxing wine and 4 cups (1 L) water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum. Enclose gingerroot, bay leaves and peppercorns in a cheesecloth bundle, a tea filter bag or spice infuser. Add to the pot along with large green onions. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2½ to 3 hours, maintaining the water level by adding more as needed, until beef is fork-tender. There should be about 4 cups (1 L) of liquid at the end of cooking; add water if there is too little or simmer, uncovered, to reduce the liquid if there too much.
- Remove large green onions and spice bundle with tongs and discard. Add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, salt, sugar and MSG (if using) to pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk potato starch with cold water in a measuring cup or small bowl. Slowly drizzle into the boiling liquid, a little at a time, stirring constantly, adding just enough until sauce resembles a very thick gravy. Keep warm over low heat.
- To Serve: Distribute the bean sprouts equally between 4 serving bowls. Add rice vermicelli to a large pot of boiling water; stir and immediately drain well. Divide noodles equally on top of bean sprouts; ladle Beef with sauce on top. Garnish each serving with green onions, cilantro, peanuts, pickled mustard greens, garlic and sesame seeds, and serve calamansi limes to squeeze over top, as desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Tip* For the Beef, the “large green onions”, also called large scallions, look similar to a regular green onion or a small leek but are thicker and have a larger portion of white to green; Welsh onions are also called bunching onions or Japanese onions and have hollow leaves and a small white portion. Both are available at Asian grocery stores; small leeks can be used for the Beef, as well. For the topping, use regular green onions.
