Grandpa's Braised Beef Noodle Soup

Rinse 1000g beef shank clean, then cut into thick, elongated pieces on a cutting board and set aside.

Slice 1 piece of ginger into 4-5 slices; cut 1 onion in half and slice crosswise thinly; cut 2 green onions into long segments.

Heat a Dutch oven over low heat, add 2 tbsp cooking oil until shimmering ripples appear. Add ginger slices, 10 garlic cloves, and green onion segments, sautéing until garlic and ginger turn light golden brown.

Turn heat to medium-high, add beef shank pieces and stir-fry to sear the surfaces until the meat turns opaque and lightly golden brown.

Transfer the seared beef chunks along with cooked ginger, garlic, and scallions to a bowl and set aside to clear space in the pot for onions.

Using the same pot with remaining rendered fat, sauté sliced onions until translucent. Pour in 95g soy sauce, then add 2 tbsp rock sugar, 2.5 tbsp spicy bean paste, 3 tbsp rice wine, 2 star anise, 2 bay leaves, and 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns. Stir-fry until sauce bubbles and aromas release.

Return reserved beef chunks and aromatics back into the pot, toss to coat evenly in sauce, then pour in 1200ml water until beef is just submerged.

Bring broth to a full boil over high heat, cover with lid, and lower heat to simmer for 60 minutes. Turn off heat and keep covered to steep for 20-30 minutes until beef shank is tender.

In a mixing bowl, combine 300g high gluten flour, 2g salt, and 160ml water using chopsticks into a shaggy dough. Knead by hand until smooth, oil the dough surface, cover, and rest for 1 hour.

Lightly oil the work surface, flatten rested dough with hands, roll out into a thin sheet using a rolling pin, then slice into uniform long dough strips.

Gently hold both ends of each dough strip and stretch outward, slapping the middle against the table gently until reaching desired noodle thickness.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer (small bubbles at bottom), drop in stretched noodles and cook ~3 minutes, adding cold water 1-2 times when boiling over. Drain and immediately submerge noodles into 500ml ice water.

Drain chilled noodles and place into a serving bowl. Arrange thick tender beef shank chunks on top, ladle over rich hot beef broth, and top with chopped green onions before serving.