Aromatic Rice-Noodle and Beef Soup

ingredients

• Active time: 1 hr. Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr.
• 1 lemongrass stalk
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 2 small (1 inch) fresh Asian chiles thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced peeled galangal or ginger
• 1 1/4 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
  1 1/4 quarts water & 1 2/3 tablespoons bouillon
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 2 whole star anise
  2 whole fennel
  1 whole anise extract
• 1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed white peppercorns
• 2 small tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
• 6 small scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1/2 lb. dried flat rice noodles
• 1 (1 lb.) sirloin steak (about 1 inch thick)
• 3 (5 oz.) cups coarsely chopped spinach
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

directions

Discard any dry outer leaves from lemongrass and coarsely chop bottom third of stalk. Heat oils in a 5 qt. heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook shallot and chiles, stirring, until dark brown (be careful not to burn), 4 minutes. Add lemongrass and galangal and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add broth, fish sauce, star anise, cinnamon stick, salt, and white pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into another pot and discard solids. Add tomatoes, scallions, and lime juice and simmer until tomatoes are softened, about 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for noodles. Trim fat from steak and season with salt and pepper. Heat a well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot, then grill steak 5 minutes on each side for rare. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing very thin.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in boiling water until tender, about 6 minutes, and drain. Divide among 4 large soup bowls and top with spinach and steak. Ladle soup over and sprinkle with mint.