Hotpot Beef Noodles

Hotpot Beef Noodles

　　Hotpot Beef Noodles is a famous snack from Ya'an. It gets its strong hotpot flavor from being cooked in hotpot broth and is served with beef mince, giving it a rich, aromatic taste and a distinctive style.

　　To make Hotpot Beef Noodles, the first step is to prepare the beef mince: cut yellow beef into small pieces, stir-fry them in hot oil until fragrant, then add broad bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red, add garlic, fresh broth, diced bamboo shoots, salt, pepper, spices, and ginger and scallions, and simmer over medium heat until the beef becomes tender and soft to form the mince. The next step is to prepare the hotpot broth used for cooking the noodles: mix equal parts beef tallow and rapeseed oil, heat until hot, then add broad bean paste, fermented black beans, ginger slices, and chopped garlic, stir-fry until fragrant, add fermented glutinous rice wine, fresh broth, spices, and dried chili peppers stir-fried in warm oil, and simmer until the aroma is rich and inviting. Finally, soak dried sweet potato noodles (preferably wide flat noodles) in water to rehydrate, rinse them clean, place them in a bamboo noodle strainer, blanch them in the boiling hotpot broth until hot, then transfer to a bowl and top with the beef mince to complete the dish.