Shanxi Knife-Shaved Noodles

Cut 300 g beef chuck into 3 cm pieces. Slice 10 g ginger, crush 2 garlic cloves, separate the whites and greens of 2 spring onions, and halve 150 g bok choy lengthwise. Cover the beef with cold water in a stockpot, bring to a boil and cook for about 2–3 minutes until foamy and pale outside. Drain, discard this water and clean the pot.

Heat 10 ml oil over medium-low heat in the cleaned pot. Fry all the ginger, garlic, spring onion whites and 1 star anise for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the drained beef and stir for about 2 minutes. Add 2 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp dark soy sauce; stir for about 1 minute until evenly colored and fragrant. Keep the garlic from scorching.

Add 1000 ml hot water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for about 90–120 minutes, until a chopstick enters the beef easily. Add hot water as needed to keep the beef mostly submerged. Continue simmering if it is still tough. Remove the star anise, ginger and spring onion whites, then season with salt to taste. Keep about 800–1000 ml broth, diluting with hot water if too concentrated, and keep hot.

Bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Add all 150 g bok choy and cook for about 1–2 minutes, until the leaves wilt and the stems are cooked with a little bite. Lift out and drain. Keep this water for the noodles.

Top up the water from Step 4 and return to a boil. Add 400 g fresh knife-shaved noodles and gently loosen them. Follow the package guidance and cook until tender through the thick centers, with no hard raw core and a springy bite. Drain thoroughly and immediately divide between two noodle bowls.

Divide the hot beef and all the hot broth evenly between the two bowls. Add the cooked bok choy and scatter over all the reserved spring onion greens. Serve immediately. Each bowl contains half the recipe, with broth surrounding the noodles while the noodles and beef remain visible.