Sichuan Style Beef & Mooli Noodle Soup

I think I’ve made it fairly clear in previous posts that I love Sichuan food. Having a shelf full of Sichuan “store cupboard” ingredients such as douban jiang (chilli bean paste), Shaoxing wine (well, that's not actually from Sichuan but features frequently) and Sichuan peppercorns, I thought I’d try and come up with a soup recipe using these and a new favourite vegetable - mooli.

Mooli, also known as daikon is a large white radish which has a milder, blander flavour than standard small red radishes and is excellent when cooked for soaking up the flavours of the other ingredients, particularly meat.

I think I used some steaks, thinly sliced here but I think it would be excellent with cheaper cuts, cooked for longer. Regardless it is pretty simple, once you have the ingredients, tasty and restorative.


Sichuan style beef & mooli noodle soup
2 servings

265g beef, sliced into slivers
2 tbsp oil
½ inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into “coins” each smashed with the flat side of a knife
1 large garlic clove, coarsely chopped
4 spring onions, finely chopped & half the green parts reserved for garnish
2 tsp chili bean paste (douban jiang)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
¼ tsp salt
1 whole star anise (plus ½ if you happen to have loose bits)
1 tsp palm sugar
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, tied in a muslin square
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 baby san marzano tomatoes , each cut into 4 wedges
Freshly ground white pepper
90g noodles
150g mooli, cut into thin rounds
70g shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
80g ya cai (preserved vegetable - I get mine in a small packet like that on bottom left here)
Chopped fresh coriander 

Bring a large pan of water to boil then add the beef slices. Return the water to a boil then reduce heat & simmer until the beef is just brown. This won’t take long. Drain then rinse the beef to cool and set aside.

Rinse out and dry the pan then add the oil over a medium high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and spring onions and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chili bean paste and stir for about 30 seconds. Splash in the wine then add about 1 litre of very weak beef stock, the soy sauce, salt, star anise, and sugar.  Mix in beef and peppercorns tied in muslin. Finally add the mooli & mushrooms.

Bring the soup to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes or so add the tomatoes and ya cai and continue to simmer for 15-30 minutes or until the mooli is cooked. Adjust the seasoning, adding more soy sauce, salt or sugar if required plus some freshly ground white pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain well then divide between large soup bowls. Ladle the soup over and garnish with chopped spring onions and coriander.