This light and flavorful noodle dish is one of my favorites. We use a lot of Asian ingredients at my Chicago restaurant, foods I shop for myself at the local Asian market. The best part of those trips is the Vietnamese place next door, where I stop regularly, shopping bags in hand, for a delicious bowl of pho before heading back to my kitchen. Lightly dipping the beef in broth to cook it, as I describe below, is referred to as “shabu-shabu” in Japan.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　6 cups beef broth (page 107)

　　1 cinnamon stick

　　4 pieces star anise

　　8 ounces beef sirloin or rib eye, thinly sliced (ask your butcher to slice it very thin)

　　1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

　　1/4 cup nam pla (fish sauce)

　　1 tablespoon shirojoyu (white soy sauce)

　　1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

　　Pinch of pepper

　　10 ounces dried rice noodles

　　2 cups bean sprouts

　　12 basil leaves

　　8 sprigs cilantro

　　2 teaspoons garlic oil (recipe follows)

　　

Garlic Oil and Garlic Chips

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic

　　(makes 1 cup)

　　

Step 1

Combine the beef broth, cinnamon, and star anise in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the spices from the liquid and discard.

　　

Step 2

Dip each piece of beef, one at a time, into the simmering broth for 10 seconds, and then set on a plate. Repeat until you’ve dipped all the beef slices. Cover the plate when done to keep warm.

　　

Step 3

Once all the beef has been cooked, add the onion, nam pla, and shirojoyu to the broth. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Decrease the heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.

　　

Step 4

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

　　

Step 5

To serve, top each bowl of noodles with 1 1/2 cups broth and one-fourth of the beef. Garnish with the bean sprouts, basil leaves, cilantro, and garlic oil.

　　

Garlic Oil and Garlic Chips

Step 6

Pour the oil into a small sauté pan and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and carefully stir with a wooden spoon. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the garlic just begins to turn golden brown and become crisp. Be careful not to overcook the garlic, or both the garlic chips and the oil will become bitter.

　　

Step 7

Strain the oil through a fine-mesh sieve and let cool at room temperature. Carefully transfer the garlic chips to a paper towel to cool. Use them as a garnish for Mushroom Ramen (page 20).

　　Takashi's Noodles