Beef noodle soup

The Lanzhou beef noodle soup is the version most commonly seen in mainland China, and is a Chinese Muslim style of beef noodle, also known as clear-broth or consommé-stewed beef noodle (清燉牛肉麵). It often uses halal (or qingzhen) meat and contains no soy sauce, resulting in a lighter taste that may be flavoured by salt and herbs. Local lore attributes its creation with a Hui Chinese man from Lanzhou named Ma Baozi.[5] In Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, Lanzhou Beef Lamian (兰州牛肉拉面) is usually served with clear soup and one hand-pulled lamian noodle per bowl. In halal restaurants, only quality local beef from the Southern Yellow cattle (Chinese: 黃牛; lit. 'yellow cattle') prepared by the local halal butcher is used for the beef noodle.[6] Chinese radish and the specially cooked spicy oil are also indispensable partners to Lanzhou beef noodles. These ingredients are known as "One Clear, Two White, Three Red, Four Green, Five Yellow" (Chinese: 一清、二白、三红、四绿、五黄; pinyin: Yī qīng, èr bái, sān hóng, sì lǜ, wǔ huáng), referring to clear soup, white radish, red chili oil, green leek and yellow noodles respectively. In overseas Chinese communities in North America, this food can be found in Chinese restaurants. In Mainland China, a large bowl of it is often taken as a whole meal with or without any side dish.

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  Lanzhou Beef Noodle, with clear soup and hand-pulled noodles
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  Lanzhou-style beef noodle soup with chili oil

Taiwanese beef noodle soup is a noodle soup dish originating from Taiwan. It is sometimes referred to as "Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup" (四川牛肉麵), especially in Taiwan.[7][8] Although this usage can create confusion as Sichuan has its own versions of beef noodle soups[9] which may be sold at Sichuanese restaurants under the same name.[10] The beef is often stewed with the broth and simmered, sometimes for hours. Chefs also let the stock simmer for long periods with bone marrow; some vendors can cook the beef stock for over 24 hours. In Taiwan, beef noodle vendors may also have optional, often cold side dishes, such as braised dried tofu, seaweed or pork intestine. Beef noodles are often served with suan cai (Chinese sauerkraut) on top, green onion and sometimes other vegetables in the soup as well.[11]