Chinese Beef Noodle Soup

I’ve talked about my deep love of beef broth before because it makes me feel good and I love making beef stock then turning it into an aromatic broth to use in soups or stews. For this Chinese Beef Noodle Soup I add star anise, cinnamon and Chinese 5 spice to bring depth and flavour to the broth. You don’t have to make your own beef stock but always buy the best stock you can afford as it forms the backbone of this recipe. You can use leftover roast beef or fresh steak to make this meal.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults & 2 Kids
280g cooked beef
400g rice noodles
2 large spring onions
1 lime
for the broth
1 litre beef stock
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
small piece of ginger
1/2 bulb of garlic
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice

• Pour the stock into a saucepan then add the cinnamon stick, star anise, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, Chinese 5 spice, peeled ginger and garlic cloves.
• Bring the stock to the boil then immediately reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the star anise, cinnamon, ginger and garlic then add slices of beef and long dark green strips of spring onion. Cook for 4-5 minutes on a medium heat.
• Serve with cooked rice noodles (usually plunged into salted boiling water for 5-8 minutes) and finish with finely chopped white spring onion and a squeeze of lime juice.