- 2 teaspoons grape seed oil
- 1 white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 3 cups chopped bok choy or whole baby bok choy (about 5 oz)
- 7 ounces rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
- 8 ounces top serloin beef, trimmed of visible fat and very thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons low-sodium tamari soy sauce, optional
- 1 teaspoon sambal oelek or Sriracha hot chile sauce, optional
One: In a large pot, heat grape seed oil on medium-high. Add white onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add five-spice powder and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Add bok choy.
Two: Drain noodles well and discard water. Divide noodles evenly among 4 large soup bowls. Top each bowl with 2 oz raw beef.
Three: To serve, ladle broth-bok choy mixture into each bowl over beef, dividing evenly. The heat of the broth will cook the beef to medium-well, about 30 seconds. Garnish each bowl with green onions, cilantro and a few drops of sesame oil. If desired, drizzle 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce and 1/4 teaspoon hot chile sauce over top of each bowl. Serve immediately.
"Five-Spice Noodle Bowls." Clean Eating. March 2011: 49.
Well, after a long hiatus... we are back. The kitchen is fully stocked and Jean Paul and I have sat down to discuss a list of recipes that we are both anxious to try out. Looking forward to it all!
Last night we cooked up this little scrumptious dish. In all honesty, I have never tried Pho, but have been obsessed with the idea of it for the past couple of months. Maybe it has to do with the cold winter months and just wanting to fill myself up with warm comforting pleasures. So I was super excited to see this recipe in March's edition of
Clean Eating Magazine! (Which by the way is still one of my favorites.)
The recipe itself seemed very simple to create which still always surprises me. With few basic ingredients, you don't expect so much flavor, but the Chinese five-spice powder is what really makes it. This combination of spices is typically made from cloves, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise and cinnamon. Not at all the common ingredients that I would expect in a soup, but it was surprisingly delicious! This combined with the optional soy sauce and Sriracha made for a pleasant combination of sweet and spicy.
Having the meat uncooked in the bowls and pouring the broth over it was a little unsettling at first to me. I have my suspicions of raw meat, although I do love sushi and will not pass up a serving of fresh Pacific Ahi "Poke" any day, trusting those behind the closed doors of fine dining restaurants will take care of preparing it right. I, myself... still consider myself an amateur of sorts, and have not ventured into preparing the raw meats. But as the recipe said, it cooked within the 30 seconds, (I gave it a minute or two) and was wonderfully tender.
I also added a teaspoon of salt to the recipe and two additional cups of water. I like my soup to cook and boil down. I'm never as quick as the recipes call for, so adding a little water seems to add a little time to the clock.
I will admit that Jean Paul may have enjoy this one more a little more so than I did, helping himself to a second bowl while declaring that the next time that he is sick, THIS IS what I must make for him. A kiss on the head while passing me, I replied with an "okay darling." He also LOVES all that is hot and spicy and added more than his share of the hot sauce to his bowl.
Yes, we will be trying this one again. I may need to think of adding a little more to it... maybe a few shitaki mushrooms? Hmmm...
Try it and let us know what you thought of the recipe on our
facebook page! We'd love to hear form you. And what would you add to improve on the flavor?