Vietnamese Beef-Noodle Soup, okay Japanese/Vietnamese combo

  I have been craving a light soup/noodle bowl for a while now.  Seeing that the heat of summer has come down upon us two-fold, I didn't want a heavy, creamy soup. I saw this recipe for Vietnamese Beef-Noodle Soup with Asian Greens  in the April Cooking Light Magazine and knew I had to make it. I stuck a bookmarker in the page and then forgot all about it, until I spotted the bookmarker sticking up out of the top of the magazine the other day.

  I set out to my local Asian grocer to gather up all of the ingredients I would need. I wanted to make it with dashi, a stock that almost all clear Japanese soups are started with, containing dried kelp/seaweed and bonito flakes. Bonito flakes are most commonly smoked, dried, and shaved or flaked shipjack tuna.

  This was everything I had been craving in a light soup. I could just drink the broth straight up without even adding the beef and noodles, it was that good! First the dashi.

Combine kelp and water.

Heat to just a small simmer and remove from heat.

Add bonito flakes and let sit (off the heat) for about 5 minutes.

Strain and use immediately or store for future use.

Assemble ingredients for the stock.

Make your stock according to directions.

Assemble and chop greens for the soup.

Simmer greens in stock.

Then assemble the soup.

Dashi

Ingredients
1 4 by 6 inch piece of dried kelp (kombu)
1/2 to 1 cup dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
2 quarts of water

Directions
Combine the kelp and the water in a medium saucepan and heat over medium. Do not allow the mixture to boil; as soon as it is about to, turn off the heat and remove the kelp. Immediately add the bonito flakes and stir. Let this sit for about 5 minutes, then strain. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This can be frozen for future use, however it will loose some of the flavor and aroma.
Makes 2 quarts/8 cups



Vietnamese Beef-Noodle Soup with Asian Greens
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine April 2010


Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) sirloin steak
4 ounces uncooked wide (maifun) thin rice stick noodles
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
3 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 star anise
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 cups water (I used dashi)
1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
4 cups baby bok choy leaves
1 cup snow peas, trimmed
1 small fresh Thai chile, thinly sliced into rings (no thai chiles in town anywhere! I used 2 teaspoons sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons light miso
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup fresh (thai) basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
4 lime wedges
 
Directions
Freeze beef for 10 minutes; cut across grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
Place onion and next 5 ingredients (through star anise) in a large saucepan; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth and 2 cups water (dashi); bring to a boil. Strain broth mixture though a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return broth to pan. Add soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce, and sesame oil; bring to a boil. Add bok choy and snow peas; simmer 4 minutes or until peas are crisp-tender and bok choy wilts. Add miso at the last minute.
Arrange 1/2 cup noodles into each of 4 large bowls. Divide raw beef and chile slices sambal oelek evenly among bowls. Ladle about 1 2/3 cups hot soup over each serving (broth will cook beef). Top each serving with 1/4 cup bean sprouts, 1 tablespoon basil, and 1 tablespoon mint. Serve with lime wedges.
Makes 4 servings.

I am submitting this to Ivonne at Creampuffs in Venice for Magazine Mondays.

I am also submitting this to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays.

Michael and Carla