The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Flaming Ox mixes flavors of Taiwan

San Jose’s Flaming Ox restaurant specializes in a Taiwanese menu with food truck-like simplicity, offering a small selection of expertly prepared but versatile dishes.

It’s no coincidence, after founder Eric Chung worked the Asian cafeteria station at Apple’s Cupertino campus. From there he launched the first of two high-volume catering trucks that grew to serve up to 1,000 customers a day.

“At Apple,” Chung told San José Spotlight, “I was writing many of the menus and got exposure to ordering food. But I really wanted to do my own thing. The truck’s name was 333 because we did fusion-style tacos, burritos and bowls in three cuisines: Mexican, Korean and Indian.”

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Eric Chung, owner of Flaming Ox, a Taiwanese restaurant in San Jose, shows us how he prepares a traditional beef noodle soup and seasonal greens. 🍜 😋 Check out of next Biz Beat article to learn more about Flaming Ox! Story to come at SanJoseSpotlight.com. #bayareafoodies #sanjosefoodie #taiwanesefood #sanjose #siliconvalley

♬ original sound – San José Spotlight

Chung said he developed an understanding of how to easily swap out ingredients between the three cultures while working at Apple and, using a burrito as a foundation, deconstructed it to make it more versatile.

“With Indian food, we always had to serve it with rice, a sauce, chutney and a protein,” he said. “So you take components and just change them out. Instead of kachumber salad, we’d use pico de gallo. Instead of raita, we’d use sour cream.”

Chung’s food truck business went literally up in flames when the commissary facility in Fremont, where he stored $30,000 in food and supplies, burned to the ground. Unable to find a new place to prepare food sufficient for the demand his trucks had created, he was forced to switch gears.

“I did a food truck in the first place because it just takes less capital,” Chung said. “I had always wanted to do a restaurant, so I guess it was like a sign that it was time to move on to the next thing.”

Chung drew on his Taiwanese heritage to create a short menu with interchangeable components, such as his flagship item known as the Traditional. This noodle soup is made with a quarter pound of tender braised beef, vegetables, a choice of thin or flat noodles and mildly spiced soy and meat sauce. 

Flaming Ox offers two variations of the dish, essentially by swapping the broth. The mild version uses 100% bone broth, and the hotter version, Mala, uses meat and bone broth with a dash of red chili oil. Caution: the menu lists this one as “spicy and numbing.”

“The beef noodle is the star here,” customer Jonathan Yu told San José Spotlight. “It’s a classic and very authentic. I grew up in Taiwan, and the flavors are very similar to what you find there. It’s perfect for a winter’s day.”

Other entries are based on appetizers, like the popcorn chicken, which is transformed by adding rice and veggies. The fried, breaded coating has a complex spice profile with an ephemeral note of cassia and pepper, which goes well with the pickled cabbage, another appetizer doing double duty.

The century egg, from the cold apps menu, makes an appearance in the braised pork belly. The flavorful pork is tender yet firm and has a modest spiciness that coats the mouth.

Some items don’t make their way into entries that are well worth exploring, like the blanched seasonal greens and the green onion pancake, which is crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, threaded with julienned onion and served with a salty-sweet sauce.

“I have worked in places where the inventory was massive,” Chung said. “I wanted a menu that was easily structured and focused more on quality so the barrier of entering into the business would not be as difficult.”

Flaming Ox also has a vegan option, Zha Jiang Mein, a mushroom sauce made with Impossible plant-based soy, fresh shallots and fresh-cut veggies served over noodles. There are seasonal offerings as well, such as the Summer Noodles, made with chicken breast, julienned ham, egg ribbons, cucumbers, carrots and noodles, served with a choice of sesame or spicy chili sauce. “The essence of the night markets in Taiwan is just stalls with minimal kitchen equipment,” Chung told San José Spotlight. “There might be one pot with boiling water and one with meat sauce. We want people to experience that kind of vibe here. There is beauty in the simplicity.”

Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].