Lamb Noodle Soup
Henan-style lamb soup noodles with a clear, warming broth and hand-pulled noodles.
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Old Beijing Lamb Hotpot
Paper-thin lamb swished for seconds in a clear broth over a copper-style pot, eaten with a sesame, fermented bean-curd and chive-flower dip, then finished with cabbage, tofu and noodles in the same pot. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 老北京涮羊肉锅子, report 86.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 老北京涮羊肉锅子_86.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: EasyRegion: BeijingFlavour: Clear broth, sesame dipping sauce
Why this works
Old Beijing hotpot is deliberately plain where other hotpots are busy: the broth is just water, so nothing competes with the lamb, and all the flavour lives in the dip. That plainness is why the lamb must be sliced at 1.5 mm — thin enough to cook in five to eight seconds, thick enough not to shred — and why the lamb tail fat goes in first, blooming for thirty seconds until its oil floats, which seasons the broth and stops the slices sticking. The order matters as much as the slicing: lamb first, while the broth is clean, then cabbage, tofu and noodles, which soak up everything the lamb left behind. The dip is mixed 3:1 sesame paste to warm water before the bean curd and chive flower go in; mixed dry, the paste seizes into lumps no amount of stirring will fix. At the table, small batches and frequent dipping keep the meal paced and social rather than rushed.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh lamb leg, sliced 1.5 mm | 7 oz | 200 g | Freeze until semi-firm (about −5 °C) before slicing; a butcher can slice it for you (adaptation). |
| Lamb tail fat, sliced | 1.8 oz | 50 g | If unavailable, use a tablespoon of lamb fat or neutral oil to slick the pot (adaptation). |
| Napa cabbage, torn by hand | 10.5 oz | 300 g | Torn into 5 cm pieces, not cut — torn edges absorb broth better. |
| Firm tofu, cut into 1 cm slices | 7 oz | 200 g | — |
| Dried mung-bean vermicelli | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Soaked 30 minutes in cold water — never hot water, which makes it mushy. |
| Sesame paste | 1¾ oz | 50 g | — |
| Warm water, for thinning the paste | About 1 tbsp | 17 ml | Sesame paste to water 3:1, per the report. |
| Fermented bean curd liquid | 4 tsp | 20 g | — |
| Chive flowers (jiucaihua) | 0.5 oz | 15 g | Pickled chive-flower paste from an Asian grocery. |
| Water, for the pot | 6⅓ cups | 1500 ml | Plain water, per the report — no stock. |
Equipment
- Hotpot pot, copper pot, or any wide pot over a portable burner — a charcoal copper pot is traditional, not required (adaptation)
- Slotted spoon or chopsticks for swishing
- Small bowls for the dip
Steps
- Prepare the ingredients. Slice the semi-frozen lamb 1.5 mm thick and chill. Tear the cabbage into 5 cm pieces, slice the tofu 1 cm thick, and soak the vermicelli in cold water for 30 minutes. Mix the sesame paste with warm water at 3:1, then stir in the fermented bean-curd liquid and chive flowers.
- Bring the pot to a boil. Bring 1.5 litres of water to a rolling boil in the pot, about 8 minutes on high heat. Keep the broth at a gentle boil throughout.
- Bloom the tail fat. Add the lamb tail fat slices and cook 30 seconds until they turn translucent and oil floats on the surface. Do not skip this step: the fat slicks the pot and seasons the broth.
- Swish the lamb. In small batches, swish the lamb slices in the boiling broth for 5–8 seconds until fully changed colour with no trace of pink, then lift out and eat with the dip. The lamb centre must reach at least 75 °C / 167 °F — do not eat it half-raw.
- Finish with the vegetables. Once the lamb is done, add the cabbage, tofu and drained vermicelli and cook 3–5 minutes until the cabbage is translucent and the noodles are soft. Serve from the pot.
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Technique: thin slices, clean broth, dip does the talking
At 1.5 mm the slices cook in seconds, so the window between done and tough is tiny: lift them the moment the last pink disappears, and never dump the whole plate in at once, or the broth cools and the slices stew grey. Keep the broth boiling between batches, and skim any scum so the later vegetables cook in a clean pot. If the dip tastes stiff, it needs more warm water, added a spoonful at a time — cold water makes sesame paste seize.
Variations
- Beef version: use thinly sliced beef instead of lamb, same method and dip (adaptation).
- Extra vegetables: add mushrooms or spinach with the cabbage (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a charcoal copper pot?
No — any pot that keeps the broth boiling at the table works; the copper pot is tradition, not a requirement.
Why is the broth just water?
So the lamb's flavour stays clean and the dip carries the seasoning; a stocked broth would muddy both.
Why did my lamb turn tough?
Usually slices thicker than about 1.7 mm, or left in the pot longer than eight seconds. Slice thin and lift promptly.
Storage and freezing
Best eaten at the table as cooked. Leftover cooked lamb and vegetables keep 1 day refrigerated; reheat until steaming hot. Do not keep leftover broth with raw meat in it, and do not freeze the dipped lamb.
Old Beijing Lamb Hotpot — Recipe Card
Paper-thin lamb swished in clear broth with a sesame dip, finished with cabbage, tofu and noodles.
Prep: 15 minutesCook: 15 minutesTotal: 30 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 200 g lamb leg; 50 g lamb tail fat; 300 g cabbage; 200 g tofu; 50 g vermicelli; dip: 50 g sesame paste, 17 ml warm water, 20 g fermented bean-curd liquid, 15 g chive flowers; 1500 ml water.
Steps: 1) Slice lamb 1.5 mm; mix dip. 2) Boil water, bloom tail fat 30 seconds. 3) Swish lamb 5–8 seconds per batch. 4) Cook cabbage, tofu and noodles 3–5 minutes.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 老北京涮羊肉锅子 (data/reports/86.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The butcher-slicing shortcut, the tail-fat substitute and the non-charcoal pot are adaptations and are labelled as such. Original poster image: clouchef.com (老北京涮羊肉锅子_86.jpeg).