Sa Cha Beef Noodle Soup Simplified
The unique aroma of Sa cha paired with tender beef makes this noodle soup a favorite for many. Let me show you how to perfectly recreate it at home.
The special features of this dish
What impresses me the most is the balance in the soup base. The savory flavor of Chaoshan shacha sauce meets the richness of milk, unexpectedly blending into a silky texture.
The thinly sliced beef should be marinated with ginger juice to remove the fishy smell. For hand - made beef balls, a little chopped water chestnut should be added to increase the crunchiness.
I use buckwheat noodles because they are healthy, but note that they absorb more soup than ordinary noodles.
A good soup should be enjoyed while it's hot, and good noodles should be eaten with a story. If you also want to experience this warmth, you might as well try pairing it with the Spicy Quick Pickles Recipe I shared before. The sweet, sour and crispy taste is just perfect for relieving greasiness.
Core ingredients and substitutions
Beef slices: The best thickness is 2 millimeters. If you substitute with lamb slices, add ginger shreds to remove the mutton smell and double the amount of cooking wine during marination.
Shacha sauce: The savory - flavored Chaoshan shacha sauce is the first choice. When stir - frying, use a low heat to prevent burning. As a substitute, you can mix seafood sauce, chopped peanuts and dried small shrimp powder in a ratio of 2:1:0.5, and add a little white sugar to enhance the freshness.
Buckwheat noodles: Cook until 80% done and then rinse with cold water. If you substitute with sweet potato starch noodles, soak them in advance for 1 hour. Note that the soup base will become thicker.
Peanut butter: The smooth, grain - free type is easier to blend into the soup base. If you substitute with sesame paste, reduce the amount by half to avoid overpowering the shacha flavor with its strong aroma.
Pure milk: The milk fat in whole milk can balance the spiciness. If you substitute with coconut milk, reduce the amount by 50 ml and add half a bowl of plain water to prevent the soup base from being too greasy.
Beef balls: Hand - made beef balls have a more bouncy texture. For frozen beef balls, it is recommended to cut a cross on them to help them absorb the flavor. Vegetarians can use king oyster mushroom balls. First, fry them until the surface turns light yellow and then add them to the soup.
Lettuce: Tear the leaves into small pieces for better absorption of the flavor. If you substitute with kale, blanch it first to remove the astringency, or use tender spinach and let it stew after turning off the heat.
Places where you might have seen shacha sauce
Shacha sauce is most commonly used as a dipping sauce for hot pot. If you've ever been to a hot pot restaurant and felt overwhelmed in front of the sauce bar, you'll know that shacha sauce is just one of many seasonings that can be used to make a delicious hot pot dipping sauce.
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to sauces, so shacha sauce rarely becomes the main ingredient.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·150g beef slices
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·6 beef balls (3 per person)
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·300g buckwheat noodles (you can substitute with instant noodles, crab - roe noodles, fresh noodles or rice noodles)
Additional Ingredients
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·2 slices of lettuce
Seasonings
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·2 tablespoons Satay sauce
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·1 teaspoon peanut butter
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·70ml pure milk
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·1 teaspoon salt
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·Appropriate amount of cooking oil (for stir-fried shacha sauce)
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Add an appropriate amount of cooking oil to the pot. After heating up, add 2 tablespoons of satay sauce and stir - fry until fragrant.
Step 2
Add boiling water, then add 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and stir well. Subsequently, add an appropriate amount of pure milk and continue to stir to make the soup base.
Step 3
Add the beef balls and 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer for 7 - 8 minutes until the beef balls are cooked through.
Step 4
At this time, put the marinated beef slices into the pot one by one. Be careful to avoid the beef slices sticking together and ensure that each slice of beef is evenly cooked.
Step 5
Add the pre - cooked buckwheat noodles to the pot and cook until done. You can also add the lettuce at this time.
Step 6
After all the ingredients are cooked, you can fish them out and then plate them for immediate consumption.
More Chinese noodle recipes
Nanchang Mixed Rice Noodles Recipe Simple and Tasty
Authentic Sichuan Delicacy: Sweet Noodles
Authentic Chinese Pork Chow Mein Recipe
Easy Steps to Make Casarole with Ham Tomato
Professional tips
Don't be hasty to put the shacha sauce into the pot
Before stir - frying the shacha sauce, first put half a spoonful of minced garlic into the pot to let it turn fragrant. Pour in the sauce when the oil is moderately hot (about 50% heat). As soon as you smell the nutty aroma, turn to low heat immediately. Stir - frying for too long will easily make the sauce bitter.
Prepare the peanut butter first before pouring it in
Putting peanut butter directly into the hot soup will cause it to clump. I'm used to dissolving it with the hot water used for cooking noodles. Stir it until smooth, just like making sesame paste. It is recommended to choose full - fat milk. When pouring it, drizzle it along the edge of the pot in a circular motion to make the soup base silkier.
Don't overcook the beef balls
Five minutes is enough to cook frozen beef balls. When you can poke them with a chopstick and they bounce back, they are cooked. For fresh beef slices, don't wait until the soup is boiling. Put them in when small bubbles form around the edge of the pot and quickly spread them out. Take them out as soon as the slices start to curl up. They will be so tender that they almost burst with juice when bitten.
Cook the noodles separately for a fresher taste
Cook buckwheat noodles separately until they are 80% cooked. Then rinse them with cold water and soak them in the soup later. Tear the lettuce into large pieces and place them at the bottom of the bowl. The hot soup will make them tender. This way, the lettuce will retain a brighter color compared to cooking it directly in the soup. If the soup becomes too thick, adding some noodle soup can thin it out nicely.
There is a trick to adding seasonings at the end
Before taking the pot off the stove, I always drizzle half a spoonful of scallion oil to enhance the aroma. Sprinkling fried garlic granules can bring out the flavor more than shallot crisps. Before eating, take a sip of the soup first. The savory taste of the shacha sauce mixed with the milky aroma. It's really satisfying to slurp the noodles coated with this delicious soup into your mouth.
Pairing suggestions
Side dishes for relieving greasiness: The shacha soup base is thick and creamy. Crispy pickled vegetables are the most suitable match. Try cutting green papaya into thin strips and mixing them with fish sauce and lime juice for pickling. The sour and spicy taste can bring out the sweetness of the soup base.
Techniques for enhancing aroma: It is recommended to use scallion oil made from shrimp heads instead of ordinary fried garlic. The burnt - seafood aroma matches better with the shacha sauce.
The key to the temperature of beverages: Piping - hot noodle soup goes well with self - made bamboo sugarcane water at around 50°C. It is sweet and refreshing without overpowering the flavor of the soup.
Advance preparation and storage
Advance preparation: Both the marinade and sauce can be prepared in advance to save time during cooking.
Storage: Store the shacha beef and broth separately. Put the leftovers in a sealed container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FAQs:
If there are no physical stores nearby, you can also search and purchase it on online shopping platforms.
The key is to control the cooking time of the noodles well and avoid overcooking them to make them too soft.
It takes about 15 - 20 seconds for them to be cooked through. Don't wait too long to avoid them becoming tough. It is recommended to put them into the hot soup just before eating.
