Credit my Irish-Italian, Chicago-native wife, Kathy, for inspiring this dish. She loves corned beef, a Windy City favorite, so I’ve cooked it many times for my family. But I’ve always thought it was a shame that we enjoyed the delicious brisket but ignored the flavorful cooking broth, which typically isn’t consumed. So I thought, look at it the Japanese way—add noodles. I tried it and it tasted fantastic. So now when I make corned beef, my Irish-Italian-Japanese children always look forward to corned beef broth noodles with leftovers the next day. This dish takes time to cook slowly, but it’s easy to prepare. You can also use leftover corned beef for hash and sandwiches.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　2 to 3 pounds uncooked corned beef brisket and packaged spice mix (brisket and spice mix come packaged at the grocery store)

　　1/4 onion, peeled and ends trimmed

　　1 stalk celery, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

　　1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

　　1/2 green cabbage, core removed and halved

　　1 leek, white part only, halved lengthwise

　　1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

　　1 bay leaf

　　1 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce

　　10 ounces dried rice noodles

　　Grainy Dijon mustard, for garnish

　　

Step 1

Cut the beef in half and place both pieces in a large pot. Fill with enough cold water to cover the beef. Turn the heat to high and bring the water just to a boil, then strain the liquid and discard. Return the beef to the pot and cover again with cold water. Set over high heat until the water comes to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

　　

Step 2

Transfer the meat to a new pot and strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Cover the meat with the strained cooking liquid and return to a simmer. Add the packaged spice mix, onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, leek, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, and soy sauce; cook for 30 minutes, or until the beef is very tender. Test for doneness by inserting a paring knife into the center of the beef; it’s done if the knife slides easily into the meat. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

　　

Step 3

Remove one piece of corned beef and place it on a cutting board. Slice into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Reserve the other piece of corned beef for future use.

　　

Step 4

Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook, following package instructions. Drain well and divide among 4 bowls.

　　

Step 5

To serve, fill each of the bowls with one-fourth of the sliced beef, onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, and leek, and 1/4 cup of the cooking broth. Garnish with a dab of mustard.

　　

Ideas for Leftover Corned Beef

Step 6

This recipe makes more corned beef than you need for this dish. You can use leftover corned beef the way we do in Chicago: turn it into a sandwich. Pile slices on crusty bread, garnish with the cooked cabbage and carrot, then slather on mustard. And don’t forget corned beef hash! Shred the corned beef and stir fry it with diced potatoes and onions. Season with salt and pepper and serve with eggs. Not Japanese, of course, but both delicious.

　　Takashi's Noodles