Recipe: Quick Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

Warming, hearty and with mountains of flavour, this basic recipe for a quick and easy noodle soup is a must if you’re in a rush.

Strictly speaking, if I had a good amount of time on my hands I would definitely make the beef stock from scratch using beef bones but I’ve no problem using stock cubes.

(Serves 2 – 4, depending on how big your bowls are!)

Ingredients:

• 250g sirloin beef, cut into strips
• 3 spring onions, chopped including green stem
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 150g egg noodles
• 950mls beef stock
• 120g tenderstem broccoli
• 4 baby corn cobs
• 1 small leek, shredded
• Optional: chili powder

Method:

Place your stripped beef into a bowl along with the chopped spring onions, garlic, soy and sesame and turn the meat in the mix to coat. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (I usually pop it in for an hour if I’ve the time).

Pop your egg noodles and a pinch of salt into a saucepan of boiling water until cooked. Drain, then set aside.

Place your beef stock in a pan and bring to a boil. Add the marinade and the beef into the pot of stock, along with the broccoli, baby corn and shredded leek.

Drop down to a simmer and leave to cook for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are tender (keep an eye on your beef to make sure it doesn’t overcook!). You can add the chili powder at this point for heat.

Finally, add in your noodles to the broth to reheat and serve.

 

Note: You can of course vary the vegetables with this recipe – I love throwing in green beans when they’re in season.

(Lead image via Mo Riza on Flickr)