Asian Style Beef with Basil, Spinach and Noodles
Servings: 4 to 6 serves
Ingredients
BOWL
- 1 Nori sheet thinly sliced (see comments)
- 20 g basil leaves torn
- 100 g baby spinach leaves
- 200 g green cabbage very thinly sliced
SAUCE
- 4 tbls oyster sauce
- 4 tbls dark soy sauce
- 3 tbls honey
- 3 tbls rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbls sweet chilli sauce or shiracha chilli sauce for more spice
- 2 tbls Chinese cooking wine
- Good pinch of freshly milled pepper
- Chilli flakes if desired
MEAT/NOODLES
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 1 kg organic beef mince
- 4 whole spring onions thinly sliced (keep sliced green tops for serving)
- sea salt flakes
- freshly cracked pepper
- 500 g packet noodles of choice or more ... see notes
FOR SERVING
- Thinly sliced green tops of spring onions
- Sprinkle of sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place thinly sliced nori sheet, basil leaves, spinach leaves and cabbage in a large bowl and mix together
- Mix sauce ingredients together and put aside
- Boil the kettle so that you are ready to heat the noodles as per instructions (the noodles I use are heated through by pouring boiling water on them and allowing to sit for two minutes, then drain and serve, so be guided by the packet instructions on the noodles you choose)
- Prepare the spring onions, putting aside the sliced green tops for sprinkling over the finished dish
- In a large pan add the olive oil and allow your pan to heat to medium for a few minutes (I like my pan to warm gently until the heat is evenly distributed so give it a little time)
- Add the beef mince, breaking it up as it cooks for approximately 5 to 8 minutes, or until it has changed colour to brown (cooking time will depend on the size of your pan)
- Add the sauce mixture and stir through, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a further 5 minutes
- Whilst the meat and sauce are cooking prepare your noodles, drain and pour the hot noodles over the veggies in the large bowl
- Add the spring onions to the meat sauce and stir through, taste and add extra seasoning if needed (I like mine quite peppery so I add quite a bit of pepper, but you be the judge of the flavour you like)
- Pour the hot meat mixture over the noodles and other ingredients and stir through
- Serve noodles topped with a sprinkling of the green tops from the spring onions and sesame seeds
Notes
I have purposely made this dish "saucy" so there is plenty to coat the noodles and the other ingredients. It also allows the dish to stay "loose" if put in the fridge overnight so that it can be eaten for lunch the next day, and whilst it may seem bazaar to say this, it is delicious eaten cold straight from the fridge ... true!
If you have small children who don't like too much spice then hold back on the chili, but if you like things spicy like I do, then certainly add more to your taste.
I included the nori because I not only love it's flavour, but it is so good for you too! But if you don't have any nori sheets at hand then this can be left out. To prepare the nori simply cut the sheet into 4 even pieces, place each piece on top of each other so that you have a single pile, and then cut strips with kitchen scissors allowing the pieces to fall straight into the bowl you are going to mix the dish in.
You can use any type of noodle you like but I choose Singapore noodles as I find them lighter than others (because they're quite thin), and they therefore mix so easily with the other ingredients.
Quantities given will give you four generous serves, but if you know you need to serve six adults and intend eating the whole dish that night, then add more noodles as there is enough sauce to cater for that. I sometimes add double noodles when I have to cater for six large serves.
You can also serve the meat dish alone with steamed rice, but I do prefer it with the noodles and greens mixed in.
Chopped toasted peanuts are also another option for serving instead of sesame seeds if you prefer.