Noodle Bowls

A few weeks ago, I was treated to a morning alone. My mom watched my son as I drove around running errands by myself, and I even got to have breakfast at one of my favorite neighborhood spots, The Detour Cafe, on 32nd(ish) & SE Division. The Detour is a cute, tiny little place with hip Ikea style furniture and wee booths, and a wall filled with design magazines, home magazines, and some of my favorites- food magazines! I sat and flipped through an issue of Gourmet Magazine while waiting on my breakfast, and when I came across this easy-looking recipe, I scribbled it down hastily and jammed it into my pocket. After breakfast, I headed to the grocery store and picked up all the things I needed to make it (kind of a spendy list, if you don't have all the staples laying around) and presented it to my husband that night for dinner. Not a man prone to flattery, he proclaimed it the best meal I'd ever cooked for him, and it's been in my arsenal ever since.





The best thing about this recipe is that it easily lends itself to interpretation, even by the most timid chefs. The big flavors come from one of my kitchen staples- curry paste! And using a grill pan to cook the meat and veggies gives it that charred flavor that really makes it blow up in your mouth. If you don't have a cast-iron grill pan, I beg you to pick one up. I got ours from Ikea for $40, which can seem like a lot of money if you're broke like we usually are, but for all the use we get out of it, I consider it a necessary kitchen item, especially if you live in an apartment like we do and you don't get the chance to grill outside!



See? Look at those bangin' grill marks. Oh god, I remember the first time I grilled up a chicken breast on this baby- I was so pumped. Okay, on to the recipe! I'm going to write it exactly as I copied it, with my variations added in.

Noodle Bowls

You'll need:

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mild honey
2 tbsp fish sauce (divided)
1 lb. flank steak
3 tbsp oil
2 shallots, sliced
1 tbsp ginger
1 1/2 tsp green curry paste
1 3/4 cups beef broth
1 tbsp lime juice
1 red bell pepper
1 bunch of scallions
3/4 lb dried yakisoba noodles


Mix soy sauce, honey, oil, 1 tbsp of the fish sauce, & 1/4 tsp of salt (really!? you need salt to go with your salty soy sauce and your salty fish sauce? really? I left out the salt.) and marinate steak at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, turning once.

Saute shallots (I used white onion this time, I was out of shallots) & ginger until shallots begin to brown. Add beef broth (I actually used 2 whole cups, because duh- then each person gets a 1-cup serving of broth.), curry paste, fish sauce, & lime juice, bring to a low boil, and then simmer, covered. (This time I added shredded cabbage to the broth while it simmered. I like cabbage in my brothy soups.)

Grill steak on medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes per side. Place on a cutting boad and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing. On the same grill, add your veggies (sliced bell pepper, scallions, this time I used zuchinni strips as well). While grilling veggies, heat a pot of boiling water and drop in your noodles (I used flour sticks from the asian market) and drain when cooked.

To assemble, place a handful of noodles at the bottom of the bowl. Stack your veggies on top, then cover with broth. Top with thinly sliced steak and garnish with fresh scallions (if you have some, which I didn't, haha).



I was initially attracted to this recipe because of the beef, let's be honest. My husband and I don't eat an awful lot of meat to begin with, and beef is kind of a rare treat for us. We were both vegetarian (well, he was actually vegan) for the greater part of the last decade, and we only started eating meat a couple of years ago. Now we stick to smaller portions of lean meats, local and organic whenever possible, and we mostly eat chicken or (sometimes) fish. Part of the reason we don't eat much beef is that we can never think of ways to cook it! How many burgers and steaks can a person eat? But, the best thing about this dish is that you can make it however the hell you want! If you're vegetarian or vegan, just use mushroom broth instead of beef broth, and grill up some tempeh instead of steak. If you don't like steak but you eat meat, try the same thing with grilled chicken breast and chicken broth. It's pretty simple to adapt. Keep in mind if you're vegetarian to use a little extra soy sauce instead of fish sauce, you're going to miss the saltiness without it. And of course, I think it goes without saying that you can use any vegetable you'd like.



A final note- this recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, as well as soy sauce! AND it even asks you to add salt to the marinade, what the hell!? I know I've mentioned it before, but coming from a family history of high blood pressure, I try to watch my sodium whenever I can. I'm not going to doom myself to eating flavorless food, but holy crap! 2 tablespoons of fish sauce contains almost 150% OF YOUR DAILY VALUE OF SODIUM INTAKE. So seriously, when it says to use a tablespoon, use a teaspoon. Or half a teaspoon, jesus. That stuff is like worse than McDonald's french fries, for real. IT JUST MAKES YOUR FOOD TASTE SO DAMN GOOD, THOUGH! Get low sodium beef broth, too- if you can find it. (they didn't have it at the store I went to today.)


Edit: This just in! Our own crusader for vegan/vegetarian cuisine, Summer Allen-Gibson, has provided us with a link to a FISH SAUCE ALTERNATIVE! Stocked by Portland's only vegan minimart, Food Fight Grocery! Vegan Oyster Sauce, people. Read it and weep.