“Rice noodle are made by milling pure jasmine rice into flour which is then made into noodles of various widths. Our 3mm variety is ideal for soups and stir fries”

These thick rice noodles made from just rice are a perfect gluten free option.

So I dusted off my Wagamama Cookbook from the bookshelf to try something new. I have never been to an actual Wagamama restaurant as my problem is most of the food includes sugar and wheat but with a few tweaks and some classic Fussy Foodie ingredients you can make some really tasty Wagamama meals at home.

Dareen loving the Chilli Beef Ramen

The chilli beef ramen recipe is for 2 people but I made it for 4 people, if you are just having this as a main meal I would make it for 2 people:

• 150g (5oz) beansprouts
• 256g (9oz) thick rice noodles
• 350g (12oz) sirloin steak
• a little vegetable oil
• a splash of teriyaki sauce (optional – contains wheat) or Wheat Free Soya Sauce
• 1 litre chicken or vegetable stock – I got some fresh stock from Waitrose
• 2 tablespoons of chilli ramen sauce (see below)
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
• 1 red chilli, trimmed, deseeded and thinly sliced
• 1 lime quartered
• Thinly sliced red pepper
• 6 sprigs of coriander

Chilli Ramen Sauce:
To make sauce mix all ingredients in a small bowl to combine:

•  2 tsps Agave Nectar
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (optional – check for sugar free version)

Blanch the beansprouts in a large pan of boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain, reserving the water, and refresh in cold running water. Cook the noodles in the reserved boiling water for 5-6 minutes or until just tender (depending on the noodle instructions). Drain thoroughly and refresh under cold running water.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes until hot and almost smoking. Lightly rub the steak with oil, then cook for 2 minutes on each side until medium rare. Remove from the griddle, brush with teriyaki sauce and keep warm in some foil while it rests for 3-4 minutes. Slice on the diagonal.

Divide the noodles between your bowls. Heat the stock, stir in the chilli ramen sauce and then ladle over the noodles. Top with the sliced beef, beansprouts, sliced pepper, spring onion, sliced chilies and coriander. Serve with a lime wedge for squeezing.

I am loving noodles at the moment, they have a really fresh taste and once you have the basic ingredients in your cupboard you can make some tasty meals in minutes. Give this Chilli Beef Ramen recipe a try and you won’t be disappointed. Just make sure you have a spoon on hand so you can slurp down the tasty juices at the bottom of the bowl.

The recipe takes it’s inspiration from the classic pho bo a traditional Vietnamese dish.I back packed around Vietnam for a few weeks with my sister a few years so was really excited last night to try this classic Vietnamese recipe.

Pho Bo in action from hotel

Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Broth – Serves: 2

• 1 litre fresh beef stock
• 2 salad onions
• 30g fresh root ginger, sliced
• 1 star anise
• ¼ small cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 175g lean beef steak, very thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (optional)
• 1 lime, juice
• A few red chilli slices, bean sprouts, mint and coriander

Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Broth Recipe Steps

Soak the rice noodles in boil water 5 minutes (or as directed on packet).

Meanwhile, bring the stock, salad onion trimmings, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick and bay leaf to the boil with 200ml water in a pan. 

NB. I added a small amount of a gluten free stock cube here for added flavour and only used 500ml of beef stock as it seemed enough to me.

Reduce the heat and simmer the broth gently for 15 minutes.

Drain the rice noodles, divide between two bowls; top with the sliced beef. I was a bit confused here as the beef was still raw, this is correct though. So it’s imperative to make sure the steak is a) good quality b) really thinly sliced (my butcher sliced mine for me).

Strain the hot broth; return it to the pan over the heat. Stir in the fish sauce (optional – check this is wheat free etc where required) and lime juice. Ladle the broth over the beef and noodles, adding the salad onions to finish. Top with the chilli slices, bean sprouts, mint etc.

My Vietnamese Beef and Rice Noodle Broth

Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Broth verdict:

If you fancy something different for an evening meal this week give this Vietnamese Beef and Noodle Broth ago.