As I was researching recipes to include in my Year of the Panda dinner menu, I knew I wanted to represent the various regions of China, so I looked for meals that would be considered typical of each area. I learned that Lanzhou is well known for their Beef Noodles dish. I thought I would try making that for my menu, so I started researching just that recipe itself.

I came across this Lanzhou Beef Noodles recipe from Omnivore’s Cookbook and well, in addition to falling in love with Maggie’s photography and writing, I decided I couldn’t make this traditional Lanzhou dish for my meal. Maggie offers such a majestic description of the dish, and the process of hand pulling the noodles – she likens the process to that of sushi making in Japan – a feat that takes years to master and is an art to be honored.

I would very much love to travel to China and taste this incredible dish, and I would also love to learn to make it. I believe that traditional recipes and practices like this deserve to be honored. So even though I do know how to make sushi at home, and I will one day learn to hand pull noodles in Lanzhou, you will not see such recipes on my website. I could never do such tradition justice.

So Dear Readers, we will have to settle with this very flavorful, completely improvised, and not at all like the original, Chinese 5 Spice Beef and Noodles. My recipe is not authentically Chinese, but it does borrow some authentically Chinese flavors. My husband and I enjoyed every last bite and slurp of this soup the few times I have made it. With all the cold weather and rain we’ve having, I foresee this soup frequently in our near future.

Chinese 5 Spice Beef and Noodles is a fairly simple dish to make. The most difficult part being slicing the beef super thin. I place the entire raw steak in the freezer, then use my sharpest knife to slice as thinly as I can. Freezing the beef makes it easier to slice, and the super thin slices thaw it out instantly.

The super thin steak gets a marinade before being added to the piping hot noodle soup. Serve with your favorite toppings and accompaniments to make this dish your own.

Chinese 5 Spice Beef and Noodles

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Ingredients

• 1 pound filet mignon
• 2 fluid ounces (1/4 cup) low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 fluid ounce (2 tablespoons) rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
• 1 quart low-sodium beef broth
• 1 package udon or other wide noodle
• optional toppings:
• cilantro
• lime wedges
• garlic slices
• ginger slices
• scallions
• baby corn
• bok choy

Instructions

1. Place the beef in the freezer overnight to freeze solid. Remove from the freezer and use a very sharp knife to slice thinly.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, sugar, and Chinese 5 spice. Place the thinly sliced beef in the bowl and stir to coat. Allow to marinade at room temperature 20 minutes, or up to overnight in the fridge.
3. Place the beef broth in a medium to large sized sauce pot, and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.
4. Cook the noodles according to the package directions, then add to the hot beef broth.
5. Gently add the beef to the hot beef broth and stir to mix. The beef will cook in the hot broth.
6. Serve immediately with desired toppings.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 9Carbohydrates: 2g