Spiced Beef, Cabbage & Noodle Soup
Typically, the Vietnamese noodle soup pho may take hours to make, as the broth simmers away becoming more and more flavorful. But for this recipe inspired by pho, we cook the aromatics and spices before adding the broth, which helps releases more flavor from them, cutting down on simmer time.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon peanut or grapeseed oil
- 1 medium onion cut into 6 wedges
- 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 cups unsalted beef stock or low-sodium beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 ounces thin rice noodles or rice sticks
- 8 napa cabbage leaves cut into 2-inch pieces
- 12 ounces top sirloin or boneless rib-eye steak very thinly sliced
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 1 cup fresh mint and/or Thai basil leaves
- 1 jalapeño pepper sliced
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and ginger; cook, stirring, until starting to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, coriander and fennel seeds; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add stock (or broth), water and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Divide among 4 large soup bowls.
- Carefully pour the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl (discard solids). Return the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add cabbage, cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in beef and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Divide the cabbage, beef and broth among the bowls. Top with bean sprouts, mint and/or basil and jalapeño.
Notes
Tips: Star anise—named for its star-shaped pods that come from a small evergreen tree native to China—lends a licorice-like flavor to many Asian dishes. Look for it with bulk spices in natural-foods stores or at Asian markets.