Like most things, this started serendipitously. We blended up some tomatoes for an impromptu hotpot, and because my dad opened a couple of cans of abalone, I poured the abalone brine into the hotpot, which made this hotpot broth into something quite incredible. 

We can't always be eating abalone, but the good news is it tastes really good with chicken broth too. When I visited the US in October last year, I brought back with me several jars of Better than Bouillon, which I wrapped up as carefully as a newborn for the flight back to Singapore. And adding the chicken base to the tomatoes made a dramatic difference to the hotpot. I got all fancy at one stage, adding tomato paste and fish sauce, but as it turned out, the simple version is sometimes the best version. 

Tomato-Based Broth for Hot Pot  
Makes 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS
9 tomatoes, quartered
3 tablespoons of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Stock

STEPS
1) In a blender, blend the tomatoes into a puree. Transfer to a large pot and add water to thin it out. 

2) Add chicken broth and stir to combine. Allow to come up to a boil over a stove, and then transfer to a portable stove for the hotpot. 

It’s been a busy few weeks that I'd spent studying, and I barely left the house. It's also the flu season, and I’ve been wrestling with back-to-back colds. I was craving something rich, soupy and warm, and more importantly, something to distract me from my impending examinations. Beef shins appear only sporadically in my area, and so when they appeared one day behind the grocer’s meat section, I bought back several hunks. Both ends of the beef shins have this off-white structure, just like a piece of shin bone running through but is slightly rubbery in nature, until I figured out that must’ve been the tendon. 

This Asian recipe is quite interesting. The usual way (that I had thought) of making beef broth would have been to first sear the beef, and then deglazing and scraping up the fond before letting the beef simmer in the oven. And of course, the obligatory tablespoon of tomato paste. But to prove the old adage that there's no one single way to success, I followed the recipe to the recipe. and made as it was, was utterly delicious. I was blown away by how it tasted. 

A recipe for hot sunny days, cold rainy days, and every day in between. 

Taiwanese Beef Noodles Soup 

Adapted from Tasty's Taiwanese Beef Noodles

Makes 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

Boiling water, about 6L, or more as needed

1kg beef shank

6 scallions, halved crosswise, divided

8 slices fresh ginger, divided

6 pods star anise, divided

½ cup vegetable oil(120 g)

6 cloves garlic

2 red chiles, halved lengthwise

1 medium white onion, sliced

1 piece rock sugar

3 tablespoons spicy bean paste, or regular bean paste

½ cup dark soy sauce(120 mL)

½ cup rice wine(120 mL)

½ cup light soy sauce(120 mL)

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

1 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon salt

dried bay leaf

2 bundles flour noodle

50g bok choy

scallion, sliced, for garnish

fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

red chile, for garnish

Black and White Sesame seeds, for garnish

STEPS

1. In a large pot, add the beef shank, 3 scallions, 5 slices of ginger, and 3 star anise pods. Fill the large pot with enough boiling water to submerge the beef shank, about 5-6L of water. Cover and let boil for about 5 minutes over high heat. Boiling the beef remove the scum, while the spices remove the gamey-ness of the beef. 

 2. Remove the meat from the pot, and submerge it in cold water. Discard the cooking liquid. Cut the meat into thick medallions, about 3/4 of an inch thick. Set aside. 

3. In a wok or large pan set over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil, the remaining 3 scallions, 3 ginger slices, the garlic, red chiles, remaining 3 star anise pods, the onion, rock sugar, and spicy bean paste. As the onions cook and start to turn translucent, add the sliced beef, the dark soy sauce, the rice wine, light soy sauce, and finally the tomatoes. Stir fry for 8-10 minutes.

4. Transfer the contents of the wok to the original large pot, and add water until the liquid covers the meat. Add white pepper, salt, and bay leaves, and allow the liquid to come up to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and continue cooking for at least 2 hours, until the meat becomes tender. Remove the bay leaves and star anise before serving.

5. In a medium-sized pot, cook the flour noodles according to the package instructions. In a third pot, boil bok choy for 3 minutes, then remove.

6. To assemble the soup: place noodles into a bowl, then add the meat, vegetables and broth. Garnish and serve immediately.