Hunan Changde Mi Fen (常德米粉)

Changde in northwestern Hunan is so devoted to its style of mi fen (rice noodle soup) that locals reportedly eat it three times a day. Unlike the thinner Guilin or Yunnan versions, Changde noodles are thick, round and chewy — similar to laksa noodles — and they swim in a burnished, deeply aromatic broth built from hours of simmering beef bones with a Hunan paste of dried chillies, fermented black beans, rock sugar and star anise. Each bowl is topped with a lavish portion of meltingly tender braised beef brisket and crisp spring onion.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Broth and brisket:

• 700g (1½ lb) beef brisket
• 2 litres (8 cups) water
• 3 star anise
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 2 tbsp (30g) doubanjiang
• 1 tbsp (15g) fermented black beans (douchi), rinsed
• 2 tbsp (30ml) soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (15ml) dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (15g) rock sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 thumb ginger, sliced
• 2–4 dried red chillies

To serve:

• 400g (14 oz) fresh thick round rice noodles (or soaked dried round rice noodles)
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp (30ml) chilli oil
• Pickled long beans, to garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Place brisket in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to boil and blanch 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and return to a clean pot.
2. Add all broth ingredients. Bring to a boil, skim foam, then reduce to a very low simmer. Cover and cook 2–2.5 hours until brisket is tender enough to cut with chopsticks.
3. Remove brisket and rest 10 minutes. Strain the broth, discard solids, and return broth to the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning — it should be rich, fragrant and slightly sweet-spicy.
4. Slice brisket against the grain into 5mm-thick pieces.
5. Cook rice noodles in a separate pot of boiling water for 2–3 minutes until tender but with slight chew. Drain and portion into four deep bowls.
6. Ladle hot broth over noodles. Top each bowl with brisket slices, a drizzle of chilli oil and a generous pinch of spring onion. Serve with pickled long beans on the side.

Cook's Notes: The broth improves dramatically overnight — make it a day ahead. Changde cooks often add a spoonful of preserved mustard tuber (zha cai) to the bowl for extra complexity. The noodles should be thick enough to hold up to the heavy broth.