Why It Works
- Using a combination of beef neck bones and oxtail creates a broth that’s robust in body and flavor.
- Making a roasted chile vinegar and incorporating it into the boat noodle seasoning adds a bright, sour note without changing the base of the broth.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a cold winter night or the hottest summer day—I want to be eating boat noodles with braised oxtail. Called guaydtiaao reuua neuua dtoon in Thai, it is made by braising oxtail and beef neck bones with soy sauce, rock sugar, warm spices, and plenty of aromatics. The result is a Thai noodle soup that is savory and slightly sweet, with bright sour notes from a roasted chile vinegar that’s added just before serving and enriched (optionally in this recipe) with fresh beef blood.
Like many Thai noodle dishes, these boat noodles are Chinese-influenced. The noodle soup is known for being served in small portions; in the past, it was served from boats floating in canals, and the smaller portions made it less likely to slash and spill over the edge of the bowl. Though boat noodles are now served on land as well, this tradition of small portions continues.
My goal with this recipe was to create a flavorful soup base that wouldn’t require a full day of simmering. To achieve this, I used a combination of beef neck bones—which have a great meat-to-bone ratio—along with oxtail, a collagen-rich cut that lends robust flavor and body to the broth. As a bonus, both these cuts can hold up extremely well when braised, yielding rich and tender stewed beef (known as neuua dtoon in Thai) for topping the noodles.
The beef is braised with quintessential boat-noodle aromatics, like pandan leaves, cinnamon, star anise, Thai black soy, Thai light soy sauce, daikon radish, and cilantro roots. Once the meat is braised, I remove some of the soup and blend it with red fermented bean curd and Thai soybean paste before returning the mixture back to the broth. This helps the beancurd dissolve easily without creating an unwanted lumpy texture. Red fermented beancurd is a unique Chinese product that adds a pleasant savory saltiness, and its usage here is an ode to the boat noodles from the central Thai province of Ayutthaya, where red fermented bean curd is a signature ingredient (plus, I just prefer it).
Note that this recipe produces more broth and braised beef than you will need for the four bowls that the recipe ultimately yields—the broth is enough to make eight to ten bowls. This is a common conundrum with recipes like this one, where the process of making a rich and flavorful broth yields more liquid than the bowls will call for. When developing this recipe, we decided that four servings was a good standard to stick to, so the toppings are scaled for that. You could diverge from this, though, and take an individual-bowl approach by dividing the topping ingredients by four to figure out how much of each ingredient a single bowl needs; then make each serving on a bowl-by-bowl basis until you've used it all up. Alternatively, you could plan to make more than the four bowls instructed here by multiplying the topping ingredients, and using all the broth up more quickly. If you don't have enough braised meat for the maximum number of bowls, you can either use less meat per serving, or supplement with some additional beef meatballs per serving.
The soup will be great as-is, but it’s even better when served with what I call “boat noodle seasoning,” which is a common condiment for boat noodle dishes that's made by combining fragrant roasted chile vinegar with dried Thai chile flakes, fish sauce, and sugar. The seasoning really captures the flavor of boat noodles and brings additional brightness to the soup. A tablespoon is all that is needed per bowl.
When ordering boat noodles, you have the option of enriching the soup with fresh blood by asking for “nam tok.” The fresh blood (usually pork, though beef blood works too) is added directly to the bowl and immediately stirred to prevent curdling from the heat. It produces a richer, thicker broth, but if blood isn’t your thing, not to worry—the soup will still be delicious without it.
I recommend seasoning the soup further to your liking with table condiments, like the boat noodle seasoning, fried garlic, granulated sugar, fish sauce, and roasted red Thai chile flakes. You can also garnish with sweet Thai basil and pork cracklings, a common addition available at most boat noodle shops.
Effortless Execution: Strategies for Easy Preparation of This Multi-Component Recipe
There's no question that this recipe can seem overwhelming at first glance. It calls for a lot of ingredients that will likely require a special trip to an Asian grocer, and then requires the preparation of many components. The truth though is that the shopping is the hardest part. The rest is easy, if you break the recipe into manageable chunks.
The broth and meat, for instance, can be prepared up to five days ahead and kept refrigerated, as can the roasted chile vinegar and crispy fried garlic and garlic oil. After that, the final stages are all about organizing yourself well so that you can bring all the components together seamlessly—blanching the morning glory, stirring together the boat noodle seasoning, cooking the noodles and tossing them in the garlic oil, heating the meatballs and reserved picked beef, and getting them all into the bowls without too much delay so the soup can be served hot.
I guarantee you, this soup is worth the effort.
One final note on the recipe: While we give volumes for most ingredients, there are many instances where an ingredient can vary significantly in quantity by volume depending on the specific product you're using. An example would be the rock sugar, where we found the two ounces called for in the broth could fill either a half-cup measure or a quarter-cup measure, depending on the brand of rock sugar and the size of their respective sugar lumps. For this reason, I strongly urge you to get out your scale and go by weight as much as possible for a properly balanced bowl.
Recipe Details
Thai Boat Noodles With Braised Beef Recipe
Ingredients
For the Beef Broth:
2 1/2 pounds (1.1kg) oxtail, about 3 large pieces
2 1/2 pounds (1.1kg) beef neck bones
Kosher salt
1/2 cup (120ml) Thai light (thin) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (30ml) Thai dark (black) soy sauce
1/2 cup rock sugar (2 ounces; 60g)
1/4 cup brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces; 50g)
One 3-inch cinnamon stick (10g)
2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
3 star anise pods
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 head pickled garlic (1 1/4 ounces; 35g), see notes
1 1/2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns plus 1 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper, divided
6 small shallots (7 ounces; 200g), peeled
15 cilantro roots (1 3/4 ounces; 50g), see notes
1 head garlic (1 3/4 ounces; 50g), unpeeled
3 pandan leaves, washed
1 small daikon radish (12 ounces; 340g), peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
One 2-inch piece fresh or frozen galangal (1 1/2 ounces; 42g), cleaned and smashed
2 to 3 cubes red fermented bean curd (1 1/2 ounces; 40g), see notes
2 tablespoons (30ml) Thai fermented soybean paste
1 1/2 teaspoons five-spice powder
For the Roasted Chile Vinegar:
30 Thai green chiles (about 2 ounces; 60g), stemmed
2 medium cloves garlic (10g), peeled
One 3-inch piece galangal (10g), julienned
1 cup (120ml) distilled white vinegar, divided
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
For the Boat Noodle Seasoning:
1/4 cup granulated sugar (about 2 ounces; 60g)
1/4 cup (60ml) distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup (60ml) Thai fish sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) roasted chile vinegar, from above
4 teaspoons roasted chile powder, see notes
To Assemble and Serve:
1 quart (1L) beef broth, from above
8 Asian-style frozen beef meatballs (see notes)
4 teaspoons (20g) garlic oil from 1 recipe Crispy Fried Garlic and Garlic Oil, plus crispy fried garlic for serving
4 ounces Thai thin rice noodles (vermicelli) from one 1-pound (454g) package, such as Erawan
1/4 cup (60g) boat noodle seasoning (from above), plus more for serving
1 heaping cup reserved warm oxtail and beef neck meat (8 ounces; 226g), from above
4 sprigs morning glory (50g), cut into 2-inch segments, then blanched just until tender in salted boiling water and immediately chilled in ice water and drained (see notes)
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons (40g) fresh pork or beef blood (optional; see notes)
Ground Thai chile flakes, for serving
Fish sauce, for serving
Roasted chile vinegar, from above, for serving
Pork cracklings (chicharrones), for serving
Thai basil leaves, for serving
Granulated sugar, for serving
Directions
For the Beef Broth: In a large stock pot, combine oxtail and beef neck bones. Cover with 2 inches of water, set over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil; boil for 5 minutes. Strain bones into a colander, discarding the water, then carefully wash bones under cold running water, removing any bits of scum, any visible marrow in the bones, or coagulated blood. Wash pot.
Return bones to the pot with 5 quarts (4.75L) water, along with a large pinch of kosher salt, the soy sauce, Thai black soy sauce, rock sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon stick, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, coriander seeds, pickled garlic, whole white peppercorns, shallots, cilantro roots, garlic, pandan leaves, daikon radish, and galangal. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender and the broth is reduced by half, about 3 hours.
Using a countertop or immersion blender, blend 1 cup (240ml) beef broth with the fermented beancurd and fermented soybean paste until combined. Return to stockpot, then add ground white pepper and five-spice powder. Return to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Using tongs, transfer oxtail and beef neck bones to a large heatproof bowl and set aside to cool. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain broth into another large heatproof bowl; you should have about 2 quarts (2L) broth (this is more broth than you will need for the 4 servings this recipe yields; save the rest for future bowls or prepare more toppings than what is instructed in this recipe to make more than 4 bowls ).
When the oxtail and neck bones are cool enough to handle, pick the meat from the bones and discard any excess fat. You should have about 11 ounces (340g) each of oxtail and neck bone meat. Add 1/4 cup (60ml) broth to the picked meat to moisten and keep warm.
For the Roasted Chile Vinegar: In a medium stainless-steel or cast iron skillet set over medium heat, cook chiles until charred on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chiles to the bowl of a food processor and set aside. Add garlic to the skillet and cook until well browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add galangal and cook, stirring constantly to prevent garlic and galangel from burning, until slightly dried out, about 3 minutes.
Transfer garlic and galangal to food processor along with 1/2 cup (118ml) distilled white vinegar and pulse until a fine paste forms. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and whisk in remaining 1/2 cup (118ml) vinegar along with the salt. Set aside.
For the Boat Noodle Seasoning: In a medium bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, distilled white vinegar, fish sauce, roasted chile vinegar, and roasted chile powder until well-combined. Set aside.
To Assemble: Add 2 cups (475ml) beef broth to a 1-quart saucepan along with the beef meatballs and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until meatballs are fully heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Add garlic oil to a heatproof medium bowl and set aside. In a pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain noodles, then transfer to bowl with garlic oil and toss to coat. Divide noodles among 4 serving bowls.
Add the 1/4 cup (60g) boat noodle seasoning to a second heatproof bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to the serving bowls, then return broth to heat and bring to a bare simmer. Stir in pork or beef blood, if using; make sure broth doesn't get so hot that blood coagulates. Stir broth into bowl with boat noodle seasoning.
Divide reserved beef and blanched morning glory among bowls. Ladle broth over the noodles and meat and serve immediately with crispy fried garlic, boat noodle seasoning, chile flakes, fish sauce, roasted chile vinegar, pork cracklings, Thai basil leaves, and sugar alongside.
Special Equipment
Large stock pot, colander, countertop or immersion blender, tongs or chopsticks, fine-mesh strainer
Notes
Thai pickled garlic can be found online or at Southeast Asian markets.
The roots of fresh coriander (a.k.a. cilantro) provide a slight herbal note to curry pastes, but unfortunately they're hard to find in the US, as they are often cut off from the stems before cilantro is brought to market, though Southeast Asian markets and local farmers markets in the summer and fall often have coriander with the roots still attached. If you can't find the herb with the roots still attached, you can use the tender stems of fresh cilantro. And, to clarify, although they are called coriander "roots," Thai cooks usually also use some of the tender green stem.
Fermented beancurd can be purchased online or at Asian grocery stores.
Thai roasted chile powder is made from dried Thai chiles that are dry-roasted in a pan and then ground; to make it from scratch, toast whole dried Thai chiles in a dry skillet over low heat until slightly darkened and toasted, then pulse in a spice grinder to form a powder. Some brands of store-bought Thai chile powder or flakes are made from chiles that have already been roasted; these chile powders will be visibly darker than others.
Frozen beef balls can be purchased at Asian grocery stores.
Pork or beef blood can be found at Asian butcher counters. Make sure to buy liquid blood (often sold frozen) and not a solid block of already coagulated blood (often sold fresh).
Morning glory is also sold as ong choy or water spinach. In a pinch, you could substitute Chinese broccoli, spinach, even broccoli rabe, though rabe will be more bitter.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The beef broth and picked meat can be refrigerated separately in airtight containers for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 6 months. Reheat the picked meat with a small amount of additional broth to moisten, as needed.
The roasted chile vinegar can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
The boat noodle seasoning can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
2299 | Calories |
129g | Fat |
88g | Carbs |
194g | Protein |
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings: 4 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 2299 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 129g | 165% |
Saturated Fat 52g | 258% |
Cholesterol 611mg | 204% |
Sodium 6652mg | 289% |
Total Carbohydrate 88g | 32% |
Dietary Fiber 10g | 35% |
Total Sugars 52g | |
Protein 194g | |
Vitamin C 75mg | 373% |
Calcium 362mg | 28% |
Iron 19mg | 104% |
Potassium 3071mg | 65% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |