Ginger-Garlic Beef Soup

I seem to have a penchant for making recipes that are actually multiple recipes. This time it is Ginger-Garlic Beef Soup, which is in fact a recipe for Vietnamese Spicy stock first, then the beef soup. Both recipes come from A Great Bowl of Soup.




Vietnamese Spicy Stock
So here Spicy means filled with aromatic spices, not hot. This is a great stock, and the aroma while it is cooking is amazing. I was worried that the anise would overpower the stock, but it blends really well with the other flavors.

Ingredients

• 5 cups beef or chicken stock
• 2 star anise
• 1 whole clove
• 1-inch piece of stick cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 1-inch piece of fresh ginger root (skin on is ok), sliced
• 4 shallots sliced thin
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions
Put the stock (I used chicken stock I bought in bulk from Costco) in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Crush the spices (do not grind the spices) and add to the stock along with the sugar, ginger and shallots. Once the stock has reached a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve and chill immediately using an ice bathunless using right away.

Results
This is a great stock, but I wonder if using shallots for it is really worthwhile? I know they are the Cadillac of onions, but its not like we're eating them here, we are just boiling out their essence into the stock. Next time I may try a regular onion to see if it makes a difference.

I couldn't find white peppercorns, so I used black - although I did later find a number of spice sites online that have white peppercorns. I also had difficulty finding star anise, but eventually found them at an Indian grocer call Daily Spices.

Ginger-Garlic Beef Soup
The main event based on the above stock recipe. Since this calls for lots of stock, easiest just to double the above recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts of Vietnamese Spicy Stock
• 8 scallions cut cross-wise into 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 2 pounds trimmed beef cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
• ground cinnamon
  
• minced scallions

Directions
Combine the stock, scallions, garlic and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add the beef and reduce to a simmer and cook until beef is tender. If foam forms, skim off.

Add the spinach, rice wine and ginger. Increase heat to a boil, then serve immediately. Garnish with minced scallion and ground cinnamon.

Results
This turned out really well, and for once I didn't make a mistake. I left off the cinnamon when I served this, seemed overkill to me. I used rib-eye steaks for the beef, which is most assuredly too good a cut of meat for this soup, but I wanted to make sure the beef was tender. A cheaper cut of meat would probably suffice, or stew meat.

Some things I would probably do differently next time are:

1. Slice the beef in very thin strips. The 1/2 inch chunks just doesn't seem right with this Aasian-style soup; I think thin slices would go better and reduce the cooking time to boot.

2. Add the spinach when serving. Rather than add the spinach to the entire pot, I think I'd divide up the spinach into the individual serving bowls and serve the boiling soup over it.

3. Once again serving sizes are too large. Unless this is the entire meal - which it very well could be - this recipes really serves 8.

4. Add noodles. Ok, I admit it, I'm a carb guy. This soup just screams for long thin noodles. Not sure which kind I'd use, maybe soba or fresh ramen (not the deep fried kind). Adding noodles would make this more of a one dish meal.

Nutritional Information
8 servings
Calories: 170
Fat. Total: 5g
Carbohydrates, Total: 5g
Cholesterol: 71mg
Sodium: 1041mg
Protein: 25g
Fiber: 1g
Fat, Saturated: 1g

Weight Watcher Points: 4