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Tainan beef soup
Gû-bah-thng (牛肉湯): paper-thin beef in a bowl, cooked by boiling bone broth, with ginger and rice
Before dawn in Tainan, workers and night owls fill steamy shops near the slaughterhouse districts for bowls of fresh local beef sliced paper-thin and blanched by a ladle of boiling broth, eaten with rice and a saucer of soy and ginger as a sunrise breakfast. The meat is tender and rosy, the broth clean, sweet and beefy. Traditionally the slices are barely cooked; this recipe gives a safer 30-second dip in simmering broth and a fully cooked option. The pink version is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. People often cut the beef too thick, so it toughens before it cooks through; firm it in the freezer and slice it as thin as you can. Chef's tip: bring the broth to a hard, rolling boil right before every ladle; a broth that has dropped off the boil never cooks the beef evenly.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
- 6 ¾ cups rich beef stockhomemade from beef bones, or good bought stock
- 7 oz daikonpeeled, cut into chunks
- ½ onionin one piece
- 4 slices fresh ginger
- 1 tsp saltto taste
For the beef
- 14 oz very fresh beef sirloin or rumptrimmed of sinew; bought the same day from a trusted butcher
To serve
- ⅔ oz fresh gingercut into very fine shreds
- 3 tbsp tamarior gluten-free soy sauce, for dipping
- 2 spring onions (optional)finely sliced
- 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice (optional)to serve
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Wrap 14 oz very fresh beef sirloin or rump in cling film and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes, until firm on the outside but not frozen. This makes paper-thin slicing possible.
20 minStep 2: Meanwhile, bring 6 ¾ cups rich beef stock to the boil in a pot with 7 oz daikon, ½ onion and 4 slices fresh ginger. Simmer, skimming off any foam, until the daikon is translucent and the broth is sweet.
18 minStep 3: Slice the chilled beef across the grain as thinly as you can, about 2 mm. Keep the slices in the fridge until the moment you cook them.
Step 4: Fish out the onion and ginger and season the broth with 1 tsp salt. Warm four deep soup bowls with hot water and drain.
Step 5: Safer method: turn the broth down to a steady simmer. Put a quarter of the beef in a large ladle or noodle basket and dip it in the broth for 30 seconds, shaking gently, until the slices turn mostly pale brown. Tip into a bowl. For fully cooked beef, keep it in for 60–90 seconds, until no pink remains.
2 minStep 6: Bring the broth back to a hard, rolling boil and ladle it straight over the beef until covered, adding a few pieces of daikon.
Step 7: Traditional pink version: put raw slices in the warm bowl, pour over broth at a rolling boil, cover the bowl with a plate and wait 1 minute. The beef stays rosy and is not fully cooked: not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system.
1 minStep 8: Scatter ⅔ oz fresh ginger and 2 spring onions over each bowl. Serve with 3 tbsp tamari for dipping the meat and a bowl of 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice, and top up the soup with more boiling broth as people eat.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 250 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tainan beef soup take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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