beef brisket and tendon noodle soup

i found this recipe and decided to give it a try.  at ranch99 i didnt find beef tendon or brisket nor beef bones so i bought beef shank and beef neck bones.  i made the stock with shank and neck bones then i went to marina and they had all the beef ingredients!  i took out the neckbones, even though most of the meat had fallen off the bones and put in beef bones.  i also put in way too much rock sugar and it was super sweet!  like a sweet dessert soup!  FAIL!  i added salt, soy sauce, and maggi and it turned out ok i think.  also next time i want to use a mix of shank meat and brisket and tendon.  i want to add in tendon later so its not so soft and gelatinous.

Ingredients:

• 450g beef - cut into large chunks
• 450 beef tendons - cut into bite size pieces

For stock:

• 1.6kg beef bones
• 1.5L water
• 3 cardamon pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 10 cloves
• 5 star anise
• 1 tbs fennel seeds
• 1 tbs coriander seeds
• 2 onions - with skin on, washed, dried, halved
• 4 slices ginger (each about 4 inches in length)

Seasonings:

• 1 1/2 tbs fish sauce
• 50 g rock sugar
• 2 tbs Chu Hou sauce

For egg noodles:

• Fresh egg noodles
• Sesame oil
• White pepper powder

Directions:

The day before:

For stock: (refer to Vietnamese beef pho post for detailed instructions.)

• Blanch bones to get rid of scum.
• Broil onion, ginger in the oven until charred.
• Toast spices on a pan until fragrant.
• Place all ingredients for stock in a pot and cook under pressure for 1 1/2 hours.
• Leave to cool.
• Strain stock and refrigerate overnight.

The next day:

• Discard the layer of solid fats.
• Reheat stock in a pot, add beef, tendon, rock sugar and Chu Hou sauce. Cook under pressure for 45 mins.
• Remove pressure cooker lid, leave to simmer until liquid thickened.
• Add fish sauce to taste.
• Serve with egg noodles, not to forget some chili oil!

For egg noodles:

• Place noodles in a pot of hot water to loosen up the noodles.
• Drain.
• Toss with some sesame oil and white pepper.