Spicy Ramen with Fillet of Beef

If you haven’t tried Ramen before it’s a fresh noodle soup and really versatile. Whatever veggies you want to use just bung them in. It’s all about the broth you make, fresh and hot with good aromatics, lime and chilli. Anyway whether you’ve got a stinking cold or a stinking hangover it’s worth giving it a try as a pick me up!

For the broth you will need.

2 x 500g Dashi Stock

1 x 500g Chicken Stock

1 Red Chilli (thinly sliced)

1 Thai Chillies

2 Sliced Shitake Mushrooms

Juice of 1 Lime

1 Inch of Ginger (cut in to fine matchsticks)

1 Clove of Garlic

1 tsp Coriander Stalks (finely chopped)

1 tsp Mint Stalks (finely chopped)

1 Spring Onion (sliced)

2 Lemongrass Stems (bruised with the back of a knife)

2 tbs Fish Sauce

1 tbs Sesame Oil

2 tbs Light Soy

Salt and White Pepper

1. In a large pan just add in all your ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer for about 25 minutes to let the flavours infuse. Be careful not to boil the stock hard as it will lose some of its clarity and just wont look as good in the finished dish. You can leave the broth on longer the flavour will just get deeper. Before you serve just fish out the lemongrass stalks.

Filling For the Ramen

Basically it is up to you how much of each of these toppings you want to use. As all of the vegetables more or less cook at the same time you can just drop in what you want and cook in the hot broth for no more than a couple of minutes. Pre cook the Soba Noodles in salted water then immediately refresh in very cold water to stop them over-cooking. When you are ready just pile the noodles in the bowl and pour over the hot broth then dress with the steak, vegetables and the fresh herbs.

Fillet Steak

Marinade the streak in 1 tablespoon of dark soy, 1 tsp sesame oil and pepper. Seal off in a very hot pan for 3 minutes each side for a rare steak. You can allow to rest for a couple of minutes as the broth will re heat the meat once poured over.

1/2 Thinly sliced Carrot

Pac Choi

Bean Sprouts

1 Boiled Egg (about 8 minutes so it’s a little soft in the middle)

Fresh Lime

125g Soba Noodles (per serving)

Fresh Mint

Fresh Coriander

2 Shitake Mushrooms (sliced and quickly fried)