Chinese🍜 Noodles & pasta

Guizhou Master Stock Noodle Soup

Name: Guizhou Master Stock Noodle Soup
Total time: 5 h
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500 g skin-on pork belly; 1 kg pork bone or pork ribs, cut open; 6 chicken drumettes; 2 tbsp lard or schmaltz; 80 g rock sugar or white granulated sugar; 2 liters boiling hot water; 30 g scallion, tied in a knot; 20 g ginger, slightly smashed; ~1-2 tbsp spices such as caoguo, chenpi, star anise, cinnamon, etc. (in tea strainer or cheesecloth); 25 g salt; 15 g sugar; 20 g dark soy sauce; 40 g Shaoxing wine; ~200-300 g tofu, hard-boiled eggs, and other items for stewing (optional); ~300-400 g rice noodles (fresh or dried); ~200-300 g napa cabbage (optional); 20 g scallion pieces; 30 g fishwort; 2 tbsp toasted chili flakes; 1/8 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp MSG; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 3 tbsp drinking water

⏱ 300 min

An inventive noodle soup from Qianxi, Guizhou, where rice noodles are cooked directly in a complex master stock infused with multiple spices. It's topped with stewed tofu and various meats, finished with an herbaceous spicy condiment. Master stock (lushui) is a heavily spiced and seasoned cooking liquid used throughout China in countless regional variations.

Adapted from a video by Chinese Cooking Demystified

Guizhou Master Stock Noodle Soup (卤粉)

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

skin-on pork belly500 g
pork bone or pork ribs, cut open1 kg
chicken drumettes6
lard or schmaltz2 tbsp
rock sugar or white granulated sugar80 g
boiling hot water2 liters
scallion, tied in a knot30 g
ginger, slightly smashed20 g
spices such as caoguo, chenpi, star anise, cinnamon, etc. (in tea strainer or cheesecloth)Mandatory: star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn; highly suggested: caoguo, dried tangerine peel

Steps

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1
Blanch the pork bones and meat in a pot of cool water until boiling. Once the meat changes color, remove and rinse thoroughly. Slice the pork belly into roughly 2-inch pieces and set aside with the other meat.
2
In a clean wok, heat lard over medium-low heat. Add rock sugar and slowly fry together until it melts and darkens to a caramel color with large bubbles. Carefully pour in boiling hot water.
3
Pour the caramel liquid into the stewing pot with the meat. Add the scallion knot, ginger, spices in a tea strainer or cheesecloth, along with salt, sugar, dark soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine.
4
Bring to a heavy boil, then reduce to the lowest heat setting. Cover and stew for 2 hours.
5
After 2 hours, remove the drumettes if they seem to be disintegrating. At this point, add tofu, hard-boiled eggs, or other items that don't contribute flavor to the stock. Cover and stew for another 2 hours.
6
Near the end of the 4-hour stewing process, patiently skim off the thick layer of oil on top. Reserve this flavorful lushui oil for finishing the noodle bowls.
7
Add prepared meat products like hot dogs and beef balls. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to low heat and stew for 10 to 15 minutes.
8
Transfer the stewed meat and most of the stock to a serving pot. Leave about 1 cup of stock in the original pot and top up with 2 cups of water, bringing to a boil. Blanch napa cabbage if using, then add the rice noodles to cook through and absorb the flavor (pre-soak dried rice noodles in hot water first).
9
Once the rice noodles absorb the flavor, drain them and portion into individual serving bowls. Transfer the noodle cooking liquid to a separate bowl for diners to use at the table.
10
Prepare the herbaceous spicy topping by combining scallion pieces, fishwort, toasted chili flakes, salt, and MSG. Mix in light soy sauce and drinking water.
11
At the table, add some of the master stock liquid to the noodles and top with more broth from the serving pot if needed. Sprinkle the herbaceous spicy topping and finish with the reserved lushui oil.

Guizhou Master Stock Noodle Soup

Ingredients

Steps

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