Aromatic Rice Noodle And Beef Soup

By SMorrissey

This recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine. It is a classic soup from Lao. Apparently it has a lot in common with Pho (a Vietnamese soup).

I used beef in the recipe - sirloin. But Gourmet says you can use pork, chicken, or fish instead. Either way, I'm sure it will wake up your senses and make you feel good. :)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 serrano chiles, thinly sliced, with a few seeds left in for some heat
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed white peppercorns
• 2 small tomatoes, cut into a small dice
• 4-5 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 lb. dried flat rice noodles
• 1-lb. sirloin steak (about 1 inch thick)
• 2 cups chopped spinach
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from inspiredbites.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Discard any dry outer leaves from lemongrass and coarsely chop bottom third of stalk. Don't worry if it is somewhat fibrous (wood-like). You will discard it in the end.

Heat the vegetable oil and the sesame oil in a 5-qt. heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Add the shallot and chiles, stirring, until dark brown, but not burnt. It will take about 4-5 minutes. Add the lemongrass and ginger and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add the broth, fish sauce, star anise, cinnamon stick, salt, and white pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into another pot and discard the solids. Add the tomatoes, scallions, and lime juice and simmer until the tomatoes are softened, about 10 minutes.

While the broth simmers, bring a large pot of water to a boil for noodles. Trim the fat from the steak and season with salt and pepper. Heat a well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot, then grill the steak for about 5 minutes on each side for rare. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing very thin.

While the steak is resting, cook the noodles in boiling water until tender. Follow the package directions for the times. Mine was 4 minutes.

Place the noodles in your soup bowls. Pour the soup over top and then top it all with the spinach and steak. sprinkle with the mint and enjoy the experience.