One of the things I miss most about the Bay Area, is the abundance of south-east Asian restaurants. Yes we have our share of Thai and Vietnamese places here with a small sprinkling of Malaysian, but they are passable at best, often laden with MSG and salt. The worst part is that they miss the the whole point of being “cheap asian food” by being expensive.
Being a noodle soup fanatic, I especially miss having good Pho and Kuai Tiao Neua (Thai beef noodle soup). Both the noodles and soup are light and refreshing, making a perfect 1 bowl meal on even the hottest summer day. Back in the Bay, there’s a Thai Buddhist temple off MLK in Berkeley that makes a $5 bowl of noodles on Sundays that is indistinguishable from something you’d get from a street vendor in Bangkok.
Rather than continue my futile search for a descent bowl of beef noodle soup in Manhattan, I decided to try making it myself. While I can’t vouch for its authenticity, eating this sent me back to a steamy Bangkok street, tuk-tuks and all.
Spices for the soup: cinnamon stick, ginger, cilantro stems & roots, garlic, peppercorns, star anise
for stock
2 lbs ox tail
10 C water
1 star anise
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves garlic
1 knob of ginger sliced
small handful of cilantro roots/stems
1 yellow onion peeled and quartered
1 Tbs brown sugar (or more to taste)
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
salt to tastefor bowl
8 oz rice “stick” noodles rehydrated in warm water
6 beef balls (I like to make my own, but you can buy them at an asian grocery)
1/4 sweet onion sliced thin
fried garlic chips & oil
Meicai (Hakka preserved vegetables) rehydrated and chopped.
1 jalepeno pepper sliced
cilantro leaves
lime wedges
First, boil a large pot of water; add the ox tail and boil for about 7 minutes. What you’re trying to do here is to get all the foamy floaty stuff out of the oxtail so your soup comes out nice and clear. Dump this out through a strainer discarding the water, rinse the pot then thoroughly clean each piece of oxtail.
Add the cleaned ox tail and 10 cups of fresh water into the pot along with the star anise, peppercorns, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems/roots, and onion. Bring it to a boil then lower the heat to low, cover and simmer for 3-4 hours (the longer you go, the more depth your soup will have).
While you’re waiting you can make some garlic chips by mandolining a few garlic cloves then adding them to a few tablespoons of hot oil over medium heat. Stir to ensure even browning then remove to a paper towel lined plate when they reach a nice golden brown.
When it’s done, pass the soup through a strainer into another pot skimming off any excess oil. Season with the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and salt. I tend to go light on the salt as some of the condiments I add have some salt in them, but if you’re not planning on adding anything later, feel free to give it a bit more salt. Pick the meat off the bones and set aside.
To serve, boil a large pot of water, add the rehydrated rice noodles, stirring until the water comes to a boil again (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, reheat the beef balls in the soup. When the noodles are done, strain them through colander and add to the bowls. Top the noodles with some of the ox tail meat, onions, garlic chips, a bit of the garlic oil and Meicai. Laddle the hot soup and beef balls over the noodles then serve with the rest of the condiments. I also like having a little bowl of Sriracha and hoisin sauce to dip the meat in.
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To me this is just totally unique; I’ve never eaten anything like it, but can imagine how delicious it is. I think I need to get out more
This is so going to be dinner wednesday night…because I won’t have to share with anyone
That looks fabulous, really fresh and delicious. I love Thai flavours.
This looks so nice, like it. And Im happy that now I can let you a comment !! xGloria
You make me hungry, Marc. We’re having an intense rain these past two days and it’s perfect to spend the day with a bowl of soup!!
That soup looks so fresh and tasty!
Bravo to you Mark, for this kick butt noodle soup! Just looking at those beef balls and your crisp, bright and beautiful photography is torture!
We’ve eaten so much rich foods lately , your bowl of soup would be healing and satisfying. We’re coming over….
Scott, one of the things I love about food blogs is a chance to get exposed to new foods. I’m glad I was able to give you a “taste” of something different.
Tartelette, let me know how it goes:-) I think the next time I’m going to try roasting the ox tail, onions and ginger first instead of the parboil.
Thanks Laura, Gloria, Arfi and Kevin!
White On Rice Couple, I know what you mean, despite fondness for rich foods, I often crave simplicity.
Wow! This looks like a great soup! I love all kinds of Asian soups, noodle bowls, etc. I will definitely be trying this. Any suggestions in case I can’t find ox tail?
Hi Susan, thanks! If you can’t find ox tail you can ask your butcher for leg and knuckle bones cut into pieces.
should it be vietnamese beef noodles? heh … love your photography and everything you cooked look so delicious!!
Hahahah you caught me red handed. I wondered when some one would notice. Okay so the soup stock is solidly Pho (Vietnamese), but the stuff in and on top of the soup is more Thai, so it’s a bit of a hybrid.
I love asian noodle soups. Nice Thai recipe. I’ll try it next week before it gets warm outside.
By the way, I tagged you for a Six Word Memoir. If you want to participate, check out my blog. Peace.
Found this blog from opensourcefood, and, though I’ve never commented before, just thought I would say that, as a Manhattanite, we have great cheap Asian food, if you know where to look. Try the Saigon Grill, with locations in several parts of the city, for kickass cheap Vietnamese, and, on Mott street in Chinatown, there’s an amazing soup place. Also, menupages.com for the menus, reviews and prices of lots of NYC restaurants.