Are you a fan of beef noodle soup? I am. I love trying different kinds of beef noodle soup. And I like to find out who serves the best bowl.
In the last few years, this version of the Asian beef noodle soup has become one of my favorite recipes. After years of making and tweaking, I’m sharing it with you here.
This beef noodle soup recipe is not a hard one to get ingredients for. It’s relatively easy to make at home, and it tastes awesome! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
In this post: Everything you need for this beef noodle soup:
How do you make beef noodle soup?
There are mainly three steps:
- Making the beef broth: beef, onion, and a blend of spices slow-cooked for 2-3 hours to make a delicious beef soup base.
- Boiling the noodles and vegetables in hot water.
- Assembling beef broth, cooked noodles, and vegetables together. Then top it with coriander, onion slices, and lemon juice for that authentic Asian taste.
Ingredients for the beef noodle soup recipe
1,Beef broth:
- Beef: Oxtails and beef short ribs are good cuts for the soup. But if you want to shorten the cooking time, you can use beef brisket and cut them into small pieces.
- Fish sauce: If you don’t like fish sauce, you can replace it with salt. The saltness of different fish sauces is varied. Try not to add all at once. The broth needs to be a bit saltier than the usual soup as the noodles and vegetables can dilute the saltiness.
- Cinnamon, cloves, and star anise: They are strong species. Too much of any would overpower the beef flavor. Less is more in this recipe.
- Container for spices: I use the spicy container because of the fennel seeds and coriander seeds. You can empty a tea bag and fill it with the spices then seal it with a few stitches.
2, Noodles and vegetables:
- Noodles: The rice noodles are made from rice flour, water, and salt and vary in width. They are less sticky and starchy. The slippery texture is the best for this recipe. Soak in the water for one hour before cooking. They are available in most Asian stores.
- Bean sprouts: It adds a fresh and crunchy texture to the dish. You can also use iceberg lettuce.
3, Toppings:
- Onion: Red onions are sweeter and milder. But you can use brown onions too. Cut them as thin as you can.
Recipe Notes
FAQ:
A: The best cut of beef for broth is oxtails, beef short ribs, or beef brisket. It is because bone, fat, and collagen make the soup rich and flavourful. If you are on a low-fat diet, the beef shank is a good option too.
More noodle recipes you might like:
Asian-style ground beef pasta Add an Asian twist to your regular pasta dish.
Spring onion noodles. So simple and so tasty. It is vegan too!
Pork chop noodles Classic Shanghai local dish.
Ground beef and noodles stir fry A quick weeknight meal

Asian beef noodle soup
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg beef short ribs
- two onion (One for the soup and one for the topping)
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 4 tablespoon fish sauce (add more if not salty enough after adding the noodles and vegetables)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1 quill cinnamon (small one)
- 2 star anise
- 400 g rice noodle (more or less for 4 people, soaking in the water)
- 300g bean sprouts (more or less to your liking)
- 2 cup chopped coriander (more or less to your liking)
- 1 lemon (more or less to your liking)
- 2.5 liter water
Instructions
- Making the beef broth: Add coriander seeds, fenny seeds, cloves, star anise and cinnamon to a spice container. Add beef short ribs, onion, fish sauce, pepper powder, sugar water and spices in a pot. Bring it to a boil then turn down the heat, cover it with the lid and simmer for 3 hours.
- Cooking the noodles and bean sprouts: Boil the noodles in the hot water until soften, and set them aside. Cook the bean sprouts in the remaining water for 10 seconds.
- Assembling ingredients: Add beef, beef broth, cooked noodles, and vegetables together. Then top it with coriander, onion slices, and lemon juice. Enjoy! 🙂
Recipe Notes:
- You should cook the noodles and vegetables in hot water instead of beef broth. That’s why noodle soup in restaurants is always better than a homemade one.
- Slow-cook beef until tender and the meat falls off the bone, so the flavor goes through to your soup. If your beef is still chewy, it won’t have much flavor in your soup. The longer you cook it, the more flavorful your soup will be.
- You can freeze beef and soup into portions for later use.
- Add fresh chili or Sriracha chili sauce for spiciness.