Learn how to make Chinese Beef Brisket Soup (清湯牛腩) in Instant Pot. Easy to make this classic Hong Kong-style comfort food. Tender juicy beef with flavorful daikon soaked in the umami beefy broth. Add your favorite noodles to turn it into a heartwarming brisket noodle soup. Simple yet deliciously satisfying to eat. Enjoy~
In Hong Kong, it’s easy to get your noodles fix from all kinds of Noodle Shops (粉麵店).
From traditional mom-and-pop shops being passed down through generations to new trendy restaurants to chain stores.
Among the wide variety of noodle shops, some shops specialize in certain types of noodles. Such as Wonton noodles (雲吞麵), Cart noodles (車仔麵), or Rice noodles (米線).
Beef brisket noodle soup (牛腩麵) is one of the most popular Hong Kong classics!
Chinese Beef Brisket Soup 清湯牛腩
This classic Hong Kong-style Beef Brisket Noodles in Clear Broth (港式清湯牛腩) has been a local favorite.
This comforting dish is made of beef brisket (mostly Beef Finger Meat 坑腩), spices, herbs, aromatics, and noodles. Some also like to add daikon to the noodle soup.
What we look for in a good Chinese Beef Brisket Soup:
- Beef: tender with some satisfying chew, juicy, flavorful, beefy
- Broth: light, clear broth that has layers of flavors – sweet (清甜), savory-umami, beefy; not heavy, rich, or thick
- Daikon: tender soft, juicy, soaked in the flavorful beefy broth
Related Beef Brisket Recipes:
- Instant Pot Chinese Beef Stew (柱侯蘿蔔牛筋腩)
- Instant Pot HK Beef Curry (港式咖喱牛腩)
How to Cook Beef Brisket Soup
Here are the ingredients for cooking Chinese Beef Brisket Soup:
Beef
We tested this Chinese beef brisket noodle soup recipe with beef finger meat and veal brisket. The final results were quite different.
- Using Beef Finger Meat (牛坑腩): The broth is more beefy and flavorful.
- Using Veal Brisket (牛仔腩): The broth is cleaner, lighter, and refreshing. It’s still flavorful.
What is Beef Finger Meat? Boneless Beef Finger Meat is the thin strips of beef cut from in between the beef ribs. It has rich marbling, extremely beefy, and juicy! It’s also called Boneless Rib Fingers, Beef Rib Fingers, Boneless Beef Ribs, or Boneless Rib Meat.
Note: The cooking time for the veal brisket is longer. We included both cooking times in our step-by-step instructions.
Dashi Powder (HonDashi): A common umami-boosting ingredient in Japanese cuisine. It’s not a traditional ingredient in Chinese cuisine. But we like to add it to our Beef Brisket Soup for an extra flavor boost.
Sichuan Peppercorn (花椒), Star Snise (八角), Black Cardamom (草果) (optional): They spice up and add distinct flavors to the dish.
Chinese Cinnamon Stick (Chinese cassia bark 肉桂皮): It’s not the same as a regular cinnamon stick (Ceylon cinnamon). Chinese cassia sticks are darker in color and are usually sold as very hard, thick, one-layer dried bark.
Rock Sugar (黃冰糖): Rock sugar is raw cane sugar. It’s especially great for balancing flavors in stews or soups. It’s not the same as Rock Candy.
- Substitute: If you can’t find Yellow Rock Sugar, substitute it with the same amount of granulated sugar.
Regular Soy Sauce: Different brands or bottles of soy sauce can vary in their sodium levels, tartness, aroma, texture, and taste. Make sure to taste and adjust the amount accordingly. Among different brands of soy sauces, Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce (生抽) is one of our favorite go-to soy sauces.
Optional – Noodles: Use your choice of thin or thick noodles. Such as Knife-cut noodles (刀削麵), Lamian (拉麵), Thick noodles (粗麵), Ho fun (河粉), Rice vermicelli (米粉), Rice noodles (米線), Lai fun (瀨粉), or Egg noodles (油麵).
Preparing Green Onions: Finely slice the green part of the green onion for garnish and use the white part of the green onion (keep it as one piece) in Step 2.
Tools for Cooking Beef Brisket Noodle Soup
Brown Beef Brisket in Instant Pot
Heat up Instant Pot using “Sauté More” function. Wait until Instant Pot says “HOT” (roughly 8 minutes).
Pat dry Veal brisket or Beef finger meat with a paper towel.
Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil in Instant Pot. Make sure to coat the oil well over the whole bottom of the pot.
Place the beef in Instant Pot.
For Veal Brisket: Brown each side for 5 minutes.
For Beef Finger Meat: Brown 2 sides of beef finger meat for 3 minutes per side. Brown in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.
When the beef is nicely browned, remove them, then set aside.
Saute Garlic, Ginger, Green Onion (White Part)
Add crushed garlic cloves, ginger slices, and the white part of the green onion in Instant Pot, then saute for a minute.
Deglaze Instant Pot
Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) Shaoxing wine, and give it a few quick scrubs.
Pour 1 cup (250ml) cold water in Instant Pot, then completely deglaze the bottom of the pot by scrubbing the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon.
Pressure Cook Beef Brisket Soup in Instant Pot
Add 1 teaspoon (7g) fine table salt, 1½ teaspoons (6g) dashi powder, 1½ teaspoons (2.7g) Sichuan peppercorn, 2 bay leaves, 2 star anise, 1 Chinese cinnamon stick, 1 black cardamom (optional), 20 grams rock sugar, 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon (15ml) regular soy sauce in the Instant Pot. Give it a quick mix.
Add 5½ cups (1375ml) cold water and give it a quick mix again.
Add browned beef, all the meat juice, and leek chunks in Instant Pot.
With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.
Instant Pot Beef Brisket Soup Cook Time:
- For Veal Brisket: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 30 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes.
- For Beef Finger Meat: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 15 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes of natural release, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.
When Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.
Pressure Cook Beef & Daikon in Instant Pot
Add daikon chunks in the Instant Pot. Make sure they’re at least 90% submerged in the cooking liquid.
With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position.
Beef & Daikon Cook Time: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes, then Natural Release for 16 minutes.
After 16 minutes of natural release, release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position.
When Floating Valve drops, open the lid carefully.
Optional Step – Cook Noodles
When Instant Pot’s pressure cooking cycle ends and switches to the natural release stage, boil 1.5L cold water and 1 teaspoon salt on the stovetop. You can also add 1 teaspoon oil to the water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.
Once the water starts boiling, cook noodles according to your preferences. Then drain and set them aside.
Cut Daikon & Beef Brisket
Set aside beef brisket and daikon on an oven tray. Allow them to cool down a little before cutting.
Use a fine mesh strainer to remove everything else (including the leek chunks) in the Instant Pot. You can eat the leek chunks if you like. Discard the rest.
Use a fat separator or a ladle to remove the fat from the broth.
The daikon will cool down faster, so cut them first. Cut daikon in half and put them back into the broth.
Carefully cut the brisket. Be careful as the inside of the brisket will be quite hot.
Season & Serve Beef Brisket Noodle Soup
Taste and season the broth with more salt if necessary. For reference, we added 1 large pinch of salt for a cleaner taste and 2 large pinches of salt if serving the soup with noodles.
To serve, place the daikon at the bottom and layer the chopped beef brisket on top. Drizzle the broth, then garnish with finely sliced green onion and chopped cilantro.
What to Serve with Chinese Beef Brisket Soup
Serve this Chinese Beef Brisket Soup with noodles as a quick and easy comforting meal – for lunch, mid-afternoon, or dinner.
Add a vegetable side dish like Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (蠔油芥籣) or Garlic Butter Cabbage.
If you like, you can serve it with rice instead of noodles, then enjoy the soup on the side.
Other Hong Kong-style dishes to serve with Beef Brisket Soup:
- Chinese Braised Beef Shank (滷水牛𦟌)
- Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic
- Instant Pot Chinese Sticky Rice (臘味糯米飯)
- Rib Tips with Chu Hou Sauce (柱候豬軟骨)
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Ribs (蒜子蜜汁排骨)
- Sesame Shredded Chicken (芝麻手撕雞)
Dessert: HK Egg Custard (鮮奶燉蛋), Red Bean Soup (紅豆沙), Tofu Pudding (豆腐花), Black Sesame Soup (芝麻糊)
Enjoy Chinese Beef Brisket Noodle Soup~
Instant Pot Chinese Beef Brisket Soup (清湯牛腩)
Ingredients
- 2 - 3 pounds (960g) veal brisket (牛仔腩) (1¼” inch thick) or 2 - 3 pounds (1358g) beef finger meat (牛坑腩)
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
- 3 (12g) garlic cloves , crushed
- 2 slices (3.5g) ginger
- 1 stalk green onion , finely sliced the green part
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) Shaoxing wine
- 6½ cups (1625ml) cold water
- 1 teaspoon (7g) fine table salt
- 1½ teaspoons (6g) dashi powder
- 1½ teaspoons (2.7g) Sichuan peppercorn (花椒)
- 2 (0.35g) bay leaves
- 2 (3g) star anise (八角)
- 1 (7g) Chinese cinnamon stick (Chinese cassia bark 肉桂皮)
- Optional: 1 (1g) black cardamom (草果)
- 20 grams rock sugar (黃冰糖)
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) regular soy sauce
- 1 (230g) large leek , cut into chunks
- 1 (712g) daikon , cut into 1” chunks
Optional Noodles
- Cooked noodles i.e. Knife-cut noodles, rice noodles, or your favorite noodles , 70g - 100g per person
Garnish
- ¼ cup cilantro , chopped
Equipment
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Instructions
- Brown Beef Brisket: Heat up Instant Pot using “Sauté More” function. Wait until Instant Pot says “HOT”. Pat dry Veal brisket or Beef finger meat with a paper towel. We are not using any seasoning during this beef browning step.Add 1 tbsp (15ml) vegetable oil in Instant Pot. Make sure to coat the oil well over the whole bottom of the pot. Place the beef in Instant Pot. For Veal Brisket: Brown each side for 5 minutes. For Beef Finger Meat: Brown 2 sides of beef finger meat for 3 minutes per side. Brown in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. When the beef is nicely browned, remove and set aside.
- Saute Garlic, Ginger, Green Onion (White Part): Add crushed garlic cloves, ginger slices, and the white part of the green onion in Instant Pot, then saute for a minute.
- Deglaze Instant Pot: Add 1 tbsp (15ml) Shaoxing wine, and give it a few quick scrubs. Pour 1 cup (250ml) cold water in Instant Pot, then completely deglaze the bottom of the pot by scrubbing the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon.
- Pressure Cook Beef Brisket Soup: Add 1 tsp (7g) fine table salt, 1½ tsp (6g) dashi powder, 1½ tsp (2.7g) Sichuan peppercorn, 2 bay leaves, 2 star anise, 1 Chinese cinnamon stick, 1 black cardamom (optional), 20g rock sugar, 1 tbsp (15ml) fish sauce, and 1 tbsp (15ml) regular soy sauce in the Instant Pot. Give it a quick mix. Add 5½ cups (1375ml) cold water and give it a quick mix again. Add browned beef, all the meat juice, and leek chunks in Instant Pot. With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. For Veal Brisket: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 30 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes. For Beef Finger Meat: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 15 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes. Release the remaining pressure, then open the lid carefully.
- Pressure Cook Beef & Daikon: Add daikon chunks in Instant Pot. Make sure they're at least 90% submerged in the cooking liquid. With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes, then Natural Release for 16 minutes. Release the remaining pressure, then open the lid carefully.
- Optional Step - Cook Noodles: When Instant Pot switches to the natural release stage, boil 1.5L cold water and 1 tsp salt on the stovetop. You can add 1 tsp oil to the water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Once the water starts boiling, cook noodles according to your preferences. Then drain and set them aside.
- Cut Daikon & Beef: Set aside beef and daikon on an oven tray. Allow them to cool down a little before cutting. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove everything else in the broth. You can eat the leek chunks if you like. Discard the rest. Use a fat separator or a ladle to remove the fat from the broth. Cut daikon in half and put them back in the broth. Carefully cut the brisket (it’s quite hot).
- Season & Serve: Taste and season the broth with more salt if necessary. For reference, we added 1 large pinch of salt for a cleaner taste and 2 large pinches of salt if serving the soup with noodles. To serve, place the daikon at the bottom, then layer the chopped beef on top. Drizzle with broth and garnish with finely sliced green onion and chopped cilantro. Enjoy~
Notes
- Using Beef Finger Meat: Broth is more beefy and flavorful.
- Using Veal Brisket: Broth is cleaner, lighter, and refreshing. Still flavorful.
- Boneless Beef Finger Meat: thin strips of beef cut from in between the beef ribs. It's also called Boneless Rib Fingers, Beef Rib Fingers, Boneless Beef Ribs, or Boneless Rib Meat.
- Substitute: use the same amount of granulated sugar.
Nutrition
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