Broccoli-Beef and Shiitake Mushroom Rice Noodle

Just realized I haven’t post that many Asian or Chinese dishes on my blog.  You might see all kinds of breads, cookies, and desserts here.  But trust me, those are not what we normally consume everyday, although I have no problem with that at all…LOL.  On average, at least five out of seven days a week, I cook a traditional Chinese dinner, which includes steam rice and 1 to 2 main dishes that contains meat (or seafood) and vegetables.  I tend to make more simple dishes on the weekdays and perhaps make the more time consuming ones over the weekends.  Nevertheless, it’s still not a simple task to cook up 2 different dishes every night, let alone came up with new dishes to cook every day.



Thanks to my son, our dinner menu has been changed quite a bit lately!  He is a big time noodle lover, really, any kind of noodles.  Whenever I serve noodle instead of rice for lunch or dinner, he sits down quietly and finishes his plate in no time.  So, we’ve been eating noodles and pastas more often, well, a lot more often lately!  Happy kids, happy parents, why not?!  :)  Now, this Broccoli-Beef and Shiitake Mushroom Rice Noodle is one of the most requested dish in the house, beside spaghetti with meat balls and pink sauce.  It’s easy to make, delicious and very flavorful.  Of course, I have no problem cooking this, any day of the week.  Simply change up the protein and veggies and you got a whole new dish!  I used beef and ham here for the protein, you can substitute with shrimp, chicken, pork, squid or eggs.  Besides broccoli, you can use spinach, asparagus, carrots, enokitake mushroom, snow peas or bak choy for the veggies.  Why this dish is so delicious?  The secret is in the shiitake mushroom sauce and the noodle base seasonings.  Of course, I’ll include the recipe for you below.  After you try this recipe yourself, please kindly let me know how you like it.  :)  Once you’ve tried this recipe, maybe that would change up the dinner menu at your home, too.   

        

Broccoli-Beef and Shiitake Mushroom Rice Noodle:

Main Ingredients:
1 (14 ounce) package rice noodle
1/2 pound beef flanks, cut across the grain into 1/4-inch thick slices, then julienne to 2-inch long pieces
1 cup cooked ham, cut into thin strips
1 pound broccoli florets
10 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in hot water for at least 2 hours or over night
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
5 green onions, cut into 2-inch long pieces

Beef Marinate Ingredients:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Shiitake Mushrooms Marinate Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
pinch of grounded white pepper

In a large stockpot, bring water to boil and blanch broccoli for a few minutes until crisp-tender.  Remove broccoli with a slotted spoon, set aside.  In the same pot, add the rice noodle and cook to el dente (check package instructions). Drain well and return noodles back to the pod.  Off the heat, add the fish sauce and sesame oil, mix well until all noodles are coated with seasonings.  Taste the noodle to check seasoning, add more fish sauce to suit your taste. 

Add the beef strips with the beef marinate ingredients and mix well, set aside.
Wash the re-hydrated mushrooms and squeeze out excess liquid.  Cut into 1/8-inch strips.  Mix mushrooms with mushroom marinate ingredients.  In a medium sauce pan on medium-high heat, add mushroom and sauté for 1 minute.  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low and cover with a lid to simmer.  Stir occasionally to prevent mushrooms from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  Cook until 1/4 cup of liquid remains. 

Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan on medium-high heat.  Add a teaspoon of oil and sauté the beef strips until cooked through.  Remove from heat and add them into the broccoli.  In the same pan, sauté the ham for a few minutes until edges are slightly brown.  Remove from heat and add to the broccoli mixture.

Heat the pot of noodle on low, add broccoli-meat mixture to the pod, add mushrooms and all liquid/sauce into the noodle.  Stir and mix all ingredients together until noodle heated through.  Off the heat, mix in the green onion.  Serve warm.