Fine Cooking Magazine - November/December 2020

Servings: 6 to 8

Packaged stewing beef is often made up of irregularly shaped pieces from different cuts, so I cut my own stew meat using a boneless chuck roast or two 3/4-inch-thick chuck steaks.

Ingredients

1 tsp. peanut or vegetable oil
3 cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches each)
6 scallions, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, smashed
2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1-1/2 tsp. anise seeds
1-1/2 tsp. Asian chile paste
7 cups water
4 cups homemade or canned low-salt chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2-1/2 lb. boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
9 oz. fresh udon noodles (or 6 oz. dried)
1- to 1-1/2-lb. bunch bok choy, bottom trimmed, stalks washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Nutritional Sample Size based on eight servings
Calories (kcal) : 490
Fat Calories (kcal): 260
Fat (g): 29
Saturated Fat (g): 11
Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 2
Monounsaturated Fat (g): 13
Cholesterol (mg): 100
Sodium (mg): 1360
Carbohydrates (g): 25
Fiber (g): 2
Protein (g): 31

Preparation

Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. When very hot, add the cinnamon, scallions, garlic, ginger, anise seeds, and chile paste; cook, stirring, for 1-min. Add the water, broth, soy sauce, and vinegar; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the meat and bring to a vigorous simmer. Lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, partially covered, until the meat is very tender, about 1-1/2 hours, checking to be sure that the soup doesn’t boil or stop simmering.
Shortly before the soup is done, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles according to the package directions until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water.
When the meat is tender, remove the cinnamon sticks. Add the bok choy to the soup and simmer until the stalks are crisp tender and the greens are very tender, 5 to 10 min. Stir in the noodles and let them warm through. Serve immediately, garnished with the cilantro leaves.

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Reviews (6 reviews)

uglymom | 07/02/2018
This soup has one of the best combinations of flavors of ANY soup recipe. After we first tried it as a post-surgery meal at home, we have continued to make it over and again to take to others recovering from surgery or other health issues. Uniformly, we have received heartfelt thanks for bringing something both delicious and healing. Best part? It makes enough for us to share and still have a meal at home. One thing to note - like the others, we brown the meat. That is an important addition.
spyce | 12/19/2012
You can look at the ingredients and tell that this soup will be very good. I made a sort of East meets West version by using a handful of fresh collared greens instead of bok choy, and I made rolled dumplings and added those instead of the noodles. I also browned the meat first. Rather than add the scallions to the broth, I thinly sliced them and used as a garnish. I used half of a regular onion in place of the scallions in the broth. I passed on the cilantro.
rjh65 | 11/12/2011
This was very tasty. I wasn't sure of the cinnamon beef combination at first but was glad I tried it. I also browned the beef first. I used fresh udon noodles and just threw them in the soup for the last 5 minutes. It made the soup a little thicker which was fine for me.

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What We're Cooking Now

Name: Cinnamon Beef Noodle Soup
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1 tsp. peanut or vegetable oil; 3 cinnamon sticks (about 3 inches each); 6 scallions, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces; 6 cloves garlic, smashed; 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger; 1-1/2 tsp. anise seeds; 1-1/2 tsp. Asian chile paste; 7 cups water; 4 cups homemade or canned low-salt chicken broth; 1/2 cup soy sauce; 1/4 cup rice vinegar; 2-1/2 lb. boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 3/4-inch cubes; 9 oz. fresh udon noodles (or 6 oz. dried); 1- to 1-1/2-lb. bunch bok choy, bottom trimmed, stalks washed and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves