Thai beef & noodle soup

Bursting with flavour, this main-course beef soup is packed with vegetables and noodles. You can eat the noodles, beef and vegetables with chopsticks, then enjoy the soup with a spoon.

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Ingredients for Thai beef and noodle soup

15 g dried shiitake mushrooms
100 ml boiling water
1 litre salt-reduced beef stock
4 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 lemon grass stalk, cut into 3 pieces
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped
2.5 cm piece fresh ginger, grated
15 g sprigs of fresh coriander
1 carrot
1 leek
2 celery stalks
100 g sugar snap peas
100 g pak choy leaves
350 g lean rump steak, trimmed of all excess fat
100 ml light coconut milk
250 g dried thin Chinese egg noodles
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce, or to taste

Preparation method for Thai beef and noodle soup

Put mushrooms and water in a small bowl and soak for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour stock into a large saucepan and add lime leaves, lemongrass, garlic, chilli and ginger. Separate coriander leaves from the stalks and set the leaves aside to use as a garnish. Chop stalks and add them to the stock. Cover the pan and bring stock just to the boil, then reduce the heat to very low. Let the stock simmer gently for 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables and beef.

Drain the mushrooms, pouring the soaking liquid into the simmering stock. Cut each mushroom in half length-ways. Chop the carrot, leek and celery into thin strips about 5 cm long. Slice the sugar snap peas in half lengthways, and finely shred the pak choy leaves. Slice the beef into thin strips about 1 cm wide.

Remove the lemon grass and lime leaves from the stock. Bring the stock to the boil, then add the carrot, leek and celery. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and increase the heat. Just as the liquid comes to the boil, add the noodles, crushing them in your hands as you drop them into the pan. Stir in the mushrooms and beef, bring back to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1 minute. Stir well, then add the sugar snap peas and pak choy leaves. Simmer for a further 3 minutes or until the beef, noodles and vegetables are tender. Add the lime zest and juice and the fish sauce and stir well. Taste and add more fish sauce if you like.

To serve, transfer the noodles, beef and vegetables to bowls using a slotted spoon. Ladle the coconut stock over, sprinkle with the reserved coriander leaves and serve immediately