Asian Beef Noodle Soup

This was an easy, flavor-packed soup.  It uses the old stand-by Ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet!).  The recipe also called for 1/2 tsp. of Chinese five-spice powder, but when I looked at the ingredients  which contain- clove, anise, fennel - which are all favors I don't really care for, I decided to use soy sauce instead.  I was so happy with this decision - this soup turned out to be really great.  I'll definitely try this again when I need a quick meal.

Ingredients

• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 4 (3 oz.) packages of ramen noodles, broken into large pieces, seasoning packets discarded.  
• 1 small flank steak (1 lb.) cut lengthwise into thirds and crosswise into 1/4 inch slices.
• 1/2 head of Napa cabbage, shredded (about 6 cups total)
• 1 carrot finely shredded 
• 1 stalk celery thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Bring broth, ginger, garlic, fish sauce and soy sauce to a boil in a dutch oven.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

3. Add noodles to simmering broth and cook until nearly tender, about 2 minutes. 

4. Add in beef, napa cabbage, celery and carrot and cook until beef is done, about 2 minutes.

5. Add fresh cilantro and serve.

adapted from Cook's Country magazine Feb/March 2010

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