Ramen & Beef Soup

Today were preparing a beef and noodle soup that's layered with savory flavors, and that's super simple to put together. From the 'pleasant brine' of nori seaweed, to a delicious mix of teriyaki, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil, today's soup features a medley of familiar umami flavors. As a nice bonus, the soup couldn't be simpler to put together.

One of my favorite uses for leftover meat is to make a soup out of it. The fat and flavor from the meat really works wonders for adding texture and taste to a broth, as we're doing today. As an example, my Leftover Chicken Soup uses leftover roast chicken to make an orzo soup. This works with pretty much any leftover protein, be it tofu, pork, fish, or beef - as we're doing today.

Yes, we're crumbling up seaweed sheets into the soup. Why? Because seaweed has become one of my must-have flavoring agents. I simply love the briny notes it adds, and how it really presses the boundaries between being 'pleasantly ever-present' and 'nearly overpowering.' The flavor is more or less 'seawater,' but it works deliciously alongside beef and tofu. As a nice bonus, it is blissfully easy to work with.

For an example of using seaweed in soup, see my Seaweed and Ginger Soup. As a bonus, seaweed is blissfully easy to work with - just crumble it up and toss it in.

Now, without further delay, let's make some beef soup.

Ingredient Checklist and Notes

• The Noodles. I'm using my favorite brand of Korean ramyun noodles. These noodles are delicious on their own, and have a very pleasant texturing. However, feel free to substitute in the noodle of your choice.
• Lettuce. Not a lot to say here, other than slice it up thin, almost as if you were making coleslaw. See the pictures for reference.
• Fresh Ginger. You're going to want to slice the ginger 'very' thin, or perhaps even grate it into the soup. If you don't like fresh ginger, or don't have it on hand, I've got a few workable substitutes below.
• Soy Sauce. Personally, I'm using plain Light/Standard Soy Sauce, though Dark Soy Sauce should do fine if that's all you have on hand - although that will result in a slightly stronger 'soy sauce' flavor. Yes, low sodium soy sauce works in today's recipe as well.
• Sesame Oil. A key ingredient for getting those 'earthy' and 'nutty' flavors that really brings out the umami notes in the other ingredients.
• Seaweed. Plain nori seaweed sheets, the same kind we use to wrap sushi.
• Avocado. This adds a nice bit of texture to the broth.
• Scallions. Mostly for garnish, though they do add a nice bit of 'oniony' flavor to the soup.
• Sesame Seeds. Again, mostly for garnish.

Substitutions

• The Ginger. The simplest substitute is ground or powdered ginger. If a recipe calls for one tablespoon of fresh ginger, use about a quarter teaspoon of ground or powdered ginger. The next best substitute is Allspice. Here again, use about a half teaspoon per tablespoon of fresh of ginger.
• The Scallions. An equivalent amount of chopped onion, preferably red or white. Again, simply sprinkle that over the top of the soup.
• The Lettuce. Really, any green of your choice will work. Romaine, cabbage, etc.., will all do fine in today's soup. It's just preference.

Variations

• Eggdrop. Super simple to do, and brings so much to the table. Begin by making a corn starch slurry with cornstarch and water, mix until the corn starch is fully dissolved. About a tablespoon of cornstarch to a tablespoon of water. Then whisk that into two eggs, beating thoroughly until the eggs and slurry are fully combined. Once the soup is done cooking, very slowly stir the eggs into the soup. Be sure to keep stirring to keep the eggs from 'scrambling' in the soup. Once that's done, serve right away.
• Any Other Meat. As mentioned above, today's recipe format works with cooked pork, chicken, or fish. And, thankfully, the prep process remains identical.
• Vegetarian. You can use chunks of grilled tofu in place of the beef to keep today's soup vegetarian friendly. Again, prep the same way we do with the beef.