Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

What is Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup?

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Chinese: 台灣牛肉面 or 紅燒牛肉麵) is one of the most popular & iconic dishes from Taiwan.

Originally inspired by a variety of Chinese Beef Noodle Soups from different cuisines including Shanghainese, Cantonese, Sichuan.

This comforting noodle soup is mainly made with beef, noodles, and tomatoes. And the rich & flavorful “Dou Ban Jiang & Soy Sauce-base” beef broth is the soul of the dish.

The best Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup achieves a full & balanced sweet-savory-umami-sour with a kick of spiciness flavor profile.

Back in the days, Beef Noodle Soup only had a little bit of beef, lots of soup, soy sauce, noodles, and green onions.

As time went on, more and more noodle vendors added their own unique twists and styles into creating their own version of Beef Noodle Soup.

Nowadays, restaurants offer a wider variety of broth, noodles, toppings, and cuts of beef for customers to enjoy.

Beef: mostly made with beef shank, but some people also like to use brisket, other cuts of beef, or add beef tendons. Sometimes restaurants would add beef bones like ribs or oxtails to enrich the beef broth.

Beef Broth: rich & flavorful soup; can be spicy or non-spicy.

Noodles: a variety of choices including Knife Cut Noodles (dao xiao mian; Chinese: 刀削面), Flat Noodles (Chinese: 台式粗麵), Thin Noodles (Chinese: 幼麵), Rice Noodles (Chinese: 新竹米粉), or Vermicelli (Chinese: 冬粉).

Toppings: a variety of choices including vegetables, cilantro, pickled green mustard (Chinese: 酸菜), green onions, and more.

Let’s cook this Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup!

Step-by-Step Guide: Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Here are the ingredients for cooking Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup in Instant Pot:

*Pro Tip: We used 2lbs beef shanks and 1lb well-marbled chuck steak for different mouthfeel & textures. Overall, beef shanks work better than chuck steak for this Taiwanese beef noodle soup recipe. If you only want to use one type of beef, substitute the chuck steak with another pound of beef shank.

Green Onions: Separate the white parts of green onions from the green parts.

Pickled Green Mustard (Chinese: 酸菜): You can usually find pickled green mustard in Asian supermarkets. We highly recommend using them for garnish if you can find them! 😀

Tools for Instant Pot Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• Fat Separator
• Fine Mesh Strainer
• Wooden Spoon
• Pyrex Measuring Cups

Optional: Parboil Beef Meat

*Pro Tip – Parboil or Not: The advantage of parboiling the beef is having a cleaner beef broth in the end. The disadvantage is losing a bit of the beef flavors during this meat “cleaning” step. For beef noodle soups, we usually skip this step and remove the fat/scums with a Fat Separator at the end.

*Stovetop vs. Instant Pot: It’s faster to parboil the beef on the stovetop instead of Instant Pot. 🙂

First, bring 4 quarts of cold water to a boil.

Then, boil the beef for 5 minutes to clean and remove excess fat.

Lastly, remove the beef, then rinse them in cold water.

Toast Spices in Instant Pot

First, put all the spice ingredients in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.

Then, press the “Saute” button to “Sauté More” to heat up the Instant Pot.

Once you smell the spices’ aroma (after ~2.5 mins), remove and set aside the toasted spices.

Brown Beef in Instant Pot

Wait until the Instant Pot says “HOT”.

*Pro Tip: Make sure the Instant Pot is as hot as it can be to induce a Maillard reaction.

First, pat dry the beef shanks and chuck roast steak, then lightly season one side with salt.

Drizzle 1 tbsp (15ml) vegetable oil in the inner pot, then ensure to coat the oil all over the whole bottom of the pot.

Now, carefully place the seasoned side of beef in Instant Pot. Then, lightly season the other side of beef with salt.

Brown one side of the beef for 5 minutes before flipping over, then brown the other side for another 5 minutes.

Finally, set aside the browned beef shanks and chuck steak.

Saute Onions and Tomatoes

Now, add another 1 tbsp (15ml) vegetable oil in Instant Pot.

Add sliced onions, the white parts of green onions, halved roma tomatoes, sliced shallot, and 2 tbsp (28g) ginger slices in Instant Pot, then saute for 5 minutes.

Add 8 crushed garlic cloves, the green parts of green onions, 2 tbsp (30g) Doubanjiang, 1 tsp (5g) tomato paste, 3 – 6 dried red chilies, and all the toasted spices in Instant Pot, then saute for another minute. 

While the tomatoes and onions are sauteing, cut beef shanks in halves and beef chuck roast into 1.5″ – 2″ cubes.

Deglaze Instant Pot

Pour ¼ cup (63ml) rice wine in Instant Pot, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

*Note: If you’re not using rice wine, pour in ¼ cup (63 ml) cold water.

Pressure Cook Beef Broth

Add browned beef, 3 tbsp (45ml) regular soy sauce, 2 tbsp (30ml) fish sauce, 1 tbsp (15ml) dark soy sauce, ½ tsp (1.6g) ground white pepper, and 15g rock sugar (or granulated sugar) in Instant Pot, then give it a quick mix.

Then, pour 6.5 cups (1625ml) cold water into the Instant Pot.

*Pro Tip: Make sure the water level is right at or below the Instant Pot’s Maximum Fill Line (see the yellow arrow in the photo below).

With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.

• Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 42 minutes, then 30 minutes Natural Release

After 30 minutes, carefully release the remaining pressure by turning the Venting Knob to Venting position.

Remove the lid carefully.

Cook Vegetables and Noodles

Strain Beef Broth

First, transfer the beef to a large mixing bowl or plate.

Now, strain the beef broth through a fine-mesh strainer.

Then, remove the fat with a Fat Separator or skim them off with a ladle if you like.

*Note: We’re using two inner pots in the photos. Please don’t pour the beef broth into your emptied Instant Pot cooker base without the inner pot!

Season Beef Broth and Cut Beef Shanks

Now, cut the beef shanks into 1″ – 1.5″ cubes.

Then, bring the rich & flavorful beef broth to a boil with the “Saute More” function.

Lastly, taste and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt (for reference: we used roughly 2 – 3 large pinches of salt).

Garnish & Serve Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Now, assemble the dish by placing the cooked noodles, beef cubes, and vegetables in large serving bowls.

Then, pour in the piping hot rich & tasty beef broth.

Finally, garnish the Instant Pot Taiwanese beef noodle soup with finely sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and pickled green mustard (optional).

*Note: the beef broth’s flavor profile should taste even better with the extra garnishes!

Serve immediately.

Enjoy your Delicious Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup in Instant Pot~

Other Taiwanese Recipes You’ll Enjoy:

• Instant Pot Taiwanese Braised Pork (Lu Rou Fan)
• Instant Pot Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)
• Instant Pot Taiwanese Braised Pork Hock