Going to Asia last year was a gift in many ways, especially in the way it offered a chance to learn about a part of the world that had yet to capture my attention.

Securing the visa for my visit to China suggested much about a government so committed to knowing the precise whereabouts and family history of its visitors. Reading A Pail of Oysters, written in the early 1950s about the White Terror, introduced me to Taiwan’s own version of McCarthyism which was carried out on a greater and far more violent scale. I never saw anything like the maze of elevated covered walkways in Hong Kong.

But the food! And this is why I think what we eat is such an interesting topic of conversation.

Stories behind food can teach us about the history of a place. Take this Beef Noodle Soup. While debated, many call it the national dish of Taiwan though its origin lies within the Juan Cun (military villages) at the hands of Chinese families far from their original homes in the wake of civil war.

The Taiwanese government built these villages to accommodate some two million mainlanders retreating to the island in the late 1940s after Mao Zedong and the communists succeeded in pushing out Chiang Kai-Shek and the Republic of China.

These Chinese lived in close quarters for many years, often cooking together to feed the crowd, playing on their own regional Chinese recipes and cooking styles. Soon they developed hybrid dishes that were previously unknown in both the places from where they came and the place in which they found themselves.

The chili bean sauce and peppercorns here suggest Sichuan influence. The wheat noodles themselves are a Chinese addition to the Taiwanese kitchen, brought by traders from the mainland many years earlier. They became an alternative to the rice noodles eaten by islanders at that time.

A culinary historian would probably tease out a few more influences that might suggest another facet to the story, but even so, it’s still pretty neat that you can explain history with a bowl of soup!

This recipe comes from The Food of Taiwan by Cathy Erway, a beautiful book about the island’s food with lots of interesting commentary.

I didn’t have all the ingredients so I used red chili paste in place of the chili bean sauce and just one kind of soy sauce. The results were still delicious! This one halved very nicely as well.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

2-3 T vegetable or peanut oil
2 lbs. beef stew meat, preferably boneless shank, cut into 2-inch cubes
6 thick slices peeled fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 whole scallions, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 to 3 fresh red chilies
1 large plum tomato, coarsely chopped
2 T sugar
1 T chili bean sauce
1 cup rice wine
½ cup light soy sauce
¼ cup dark soy sauce
2 ½ quarts (10 cups) water
1 T Sichuan peppercorns
½ tsp five-spice powder
2 star anise

2 lbs. Asian wheat noodles
1 whole scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced
8 small heads gently blanched baby bok choy

Heat 1 T of oil in large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Once hot, brown the beef in multiple batches as needed to avoid crowding which keeps the meat from browning. Transfer meat to a plate and set aside.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the same pot until just hot. Add the ginger, garlic, scallions, chilies, and tomato. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes until very fragrant and the vegetables are softened. Stir in the sugar and cook until dissolved. Return the beef and stir in the chili bean sauce.

Stir in the rice wine and bring to a boil, scraping to release any brown bits form the bottom of the pan. Let boil for a minute and then add light and dark soy sauces, water, peppercorns, five-spice powder, and star anise. Bring just to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Skim any scum that comes to the top with a slotted spoon. Cover and cook at a low simmer for three hours.

Once the beef is tender, prepare the noodles and divide among serving bowl. Ladle the soup into each bowl with chucks of beef. Top with the scallions and baby bok choy and serve.