Since the weather kept some of the family from getting to our house for Christmas, we had the entire clan here for New Years Day. I’ll share later this month some of the goodies I made, including (squee!) merengue kisses.
My sister-in-law, who serves at a church in Milan, Italy with her husband and was back home for Christmas, came early to help me with a little meal prep. Since we had eaten so much junk over the break, I wanted to offer (and eat) some crudite, or lightly steamed veggies. She cut the broccoli into small flowers for me. I did the blanch, shock and awe thing. Done.
So, the next day, the husband is coming down with a cold. I’m craving noodles, and because of my wheat intolerance, I can’t indulge in the Big Kid’s ramen. I’m out of my favorite Thai “glass noodles,” made of rice, that I usually use in soups.
Time for a trip to the store.
With more than a little flying by the seat of my pants, I made a surprisingly delicious, quick soup that magically cured the hubs as well as my own cravings. Well, the latter, anyway.
Thanks, Lisa Fischer, for the kick in the butt to get this on the blog. Hope you liked it!
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Spicy Thai Beef Noodle Soup
Serves 6-8
- 1 qt. all-natural beef broth
- 1 8 oz. box Thai Kitchen brown rice noodles (or 8 oz of plain Thai rice noodles)
- 1 lb. beef flank steak
- 1 tsp. dry ginger or 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger, divided
- 2-4 tsp. Sriracha sauce, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 c. lightly steamed or blanched broccoli (ok to use raw, see note)
- Fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped, for garnish, optional
Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Crush the noodles so they will be manageable to eat in the soup.
Note: Crushing is always a hot mess with the regular “glass noodles,” or pad Thai noodles, because they are so brittle — they’ll go everywhere if not contained. Although I scoffed at the new, boxed noodles that took the space of the plain ones at Kroger, they are wrapped in small portions that make them easy to crush. I crushed all four packages and put them in the broth.
Put the crushed noodles into the boiling broth, then turn off the heat and cover the pot. While they sit and soften, work on the flank steak. Season it well with 1/2 tsp. dry ginger or 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger, 1 tsp. Sriracha, and plenty of salt and pepper. If you have time to marinate this part ahead of time, even better.
Sear the flank on a very hot grill, griddle or (what I used) cast-iron skillet. Cook it just long enough to be medium-rare, still pretty red in the middle. Allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes. Using a very sharp knife, cut strips at an angle against the grain, as thinly as possible. Then cut the strips into bite-size pieces.
If you are using raw broccoli, turn the heat back on to the broth and add it now. Let it cook just long enough to turn a bright green, then turn off the heat and add the beef. (If using already blanched broccoli, leave the heat off and add it along with the beef.) Season the soup with the remaining Sriracha and ginger, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Garnish, if you like, with parsley or cilantro.
Serve it with more Sriracha on the table for those (of us) who like it hot!
If you store some for later, all the broth gets soaked into the noodles, making a whole new, luscious noodle dish. Enjoy!