- A thumb of ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 spring onions
- 250g beef stir-fry strips
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 50g tamari
- ½ green cabbage
- 2 bundles of Thai rice noodles
- 2 tsp coconut, sunflower or olive oil
- 1.25 ltrs boiling water
- 1.
Peel the ginger and slice it into matchsticks. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Trim the roots off the spring onions and finely slice them. Keep the green part separate and put to one side.
- 2.
Warm a wok or large pan for 2 mins. Add 2 tsp coconut, sunflower or olive oil to the pan with the beef stir-fry strips. Stir fry for 5-6 mins till browned all over. Lift out of the pan and set aside.
- 3.
Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper. Pour in 1.25 ltrs boiling water. Crumble in the vegetable stock cube. Add the ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon stick and the tamari. Cover and bring to the boil.
- 4.
Once the stock is boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 mins to flavour the broth. While the stock simmers, finely slice half the cabbage into fine shreds.
- 5.
Lift the star anise and cinnamon stick out of the broth. Add the cabbage and simmer for 5 mins to just soften it.
- 6.
Add the Thai rice noodles to the pan. Add the beef and the sliced spring onion (keep the green parts for later). Simmer for 5 more mins till the noodles and cabbage are cooked.
- 7.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Scatter over the chopped green tops of the spring onion and serve.
- Tip
Half and half
You just need half your cabbage for this recipe. The other half will keep in the fridge for a couple of days. Try chopping it into chunks, tossing with a little oil, salt, pepper and fennel, caraway or cumin seeds and then roasting at 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 25-40 mins till caramelised and browned.