Beef noodle soup

Beef noodle soup is a Chinese noodle soup made of stewed beef, beef broth, vegetables and Chinese noodles. It exists in various forms throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. It was created by the Hui people (a Chinese Muslim ethnic group) during the Tang Dynasty of China.

In the West, this food may be served in a small portion as a soup. In China, a large bowl of it is often taken as a whole meal with or without any side dish. In Taiwan, vendors that sell beef noodle may also have optional, often cold side dishes, such as braised dried tofu, seaweed, or pork intestine. Beef noodles is often served with suan cai (Chinese sauerkraut) on top, green onion, and sometimes other vegetables in the soup as well.

In Chinese, "牛肉麵" literally means "beef noodles". If one orders "牛肉湯麵" or "beef soup noodles" in a restaurant in Taiwan, Mainland China, or Hong Kong, they might be given a very inexpensive bowl of noodles in only beef broth but no beef. If one orders a "牛肉湯" or "beef-soup", they could be given a more expensive bowl of beef broth with chunks of beef in it but without noodles.

Variations

Vietnamese versions of this dish are bún bò kho and phở.

The Chinese Muslim version uses halal (清真) meat and contains no spices or soy sauce. Only salt and green onions are used to add flavoring to the soup. The Chinese name for the Muslim version of beef noodles is clear-broth stewed beef noodles (清燉牛肉麵). In Taiwanese halal restaurants, only quality local beef from the Taiwanese zebu (黄牛, lit. "yellow cattle") prepared by the local halal butcher is used for the beef noodles.

When soy sauce is added, the soup is called red roasted or braised beef noodles (紅燒牛肉麵). This version is more popular with being used as a flavor for instant noodle. In this version, the stew meat is sometimes stir fried with hot sauce before being simmered as soup.

See also

• Chinese Islamic cuisine
• Chinese noodles
• Instant noodles
• Noodle soup
• Phở
• Ramen

Notes

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External links

• Beef Noodle Soup: A Simple but Widely Loved Dish
• Niu Nan (Beef) Noodle Soup