Cookbook Club Recipe #12 | Variation #1

Sweet, savory, zingy Sichuan flavors make for a lunch that's part embracing and part calming.

These soup jars take a little bit more work up front (meal prepping is your friend), but once they’re put together, lunch or a hearty snack is just a kettle of boiling water away. You can find a full breakdown to help you come up with your own flavor combinations in my guide to DIY Instant Soup Jars.

Beef jerky is one of my favorite ingredients for these soup jars. Cut into small pieces, it absorbs some of the hot broth and turns into chewy little nuggets of beef. I use teriyaki-style jerky here; its sweetness works nicely with the chile heat and warm spices in Sichuan hot pot base.

A little orange zest adds fragrance, while shredded romaine wilts and catches the broth between its folds. Keep the scallions separate until you’re ready to eat so they retain their fresh flavor and crunch.

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Recipe: Sichuan Beef Noodle Soup Jars

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I love about this recipe:

Beef jerky softens in the broth and contributes its own sweet, savory seasoning.

Sichuan hot pot base adds chile heat and warm spices without a long ingredient list.

Precooked noodles make assembly quick and easy.

Adding scallions at the end gives the soup a fresh finish.

You can assemble all four jars at once and have lunches ready for the next few days.

Yields: 4 small servings or 2 large onesActive Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: About 20 minutes, using cooked and chilled noodlesSpecial Equipment: Four wide-mouth, pint-size heatproof jars with lids, or two quart-sized jars; small zipper-lock bags or resealable sauce containers.Notes: Use jars intended for boiling liquids, following the manufacturer’s instructions regarding temperature changes. Look for pre-cooked Chinese noodles for the easiest prep. Otherwise, boil raw Chinese noodles until just cooked, drain and spread them on a wide-rimmed baking sheet, and toss gently with a couple tablespoons of oil to prevent sticking as they cool.

Ingredients

2 to 3 tablespoons concentrated beef soup base, such as Better Than Bouillon, depending on the saltiness of your hot pot base

2 to 3 tablespoons Sichuan-style hot pot base

Four 2 inch–long strips orange zest, white pith removed

2 ounces (55 g) beef jerky, torn into small, bite-sized pieces

1 cup (80 g) raw mung bean sprouts, chilled and drained well

3 cups (400 g) cooked Chinese wheat noodles, chilled and drained well

2 cups (80 g) loosely packed, finely shredded romaine lettuce

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Boiling water, for serving

Method

Add your ingredients to the jar. Divide beef soup base, hot pot base, orange zest, beef jerky, bean sprouts, noodles, and romaine evenly between 4 resealable heatproof jars, adding them in that order. Divide scallions and optional lemon wedges between 4 small zipper-lock bags and seal bags, squeezing out all of the air (or use small resealable sauce containers). Tuck bags into jars and seal. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Serve and enjoy. When ready to serve, remove scallion packet and add boiling water to the top of the jar. Cover and let sit 2 minutes. Open jar and stir thoroughly, reaching all the way to the bottom to dissolve the soup base and loosen the noodles. Stir in scallions and serve.

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