Cinnamon Beef Noodles

Another recipe from Asian Noodles, adapted for the pressure cooker. When it was hot off the stove, the broth was very good — spicy and cinnamony — but the next day it had somehow lost the edge of both of those flavors, which is funny because Simonds specifically says it gets better each time you reheat it. I really liked the general flavor and the combination of the meat, noodles, and spinach. The one thing I wasn’t that crazy about was the beef itself, since I’m not a huge fan of that beefy slow-cooked beef flavor. If I were going to do this again, I’d probably try to recreate the broth, but make it with different meat (perhaps adding something grilled to the broth, a la the kalbi in my Vietnamese rice and grilled pork soup.

Ingredients

Seasonings
6 scallions, cut into 1.5″ sections and lightly smashed
6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
4 slices fresh ginger, lightly smashed
1.5 tsp hot chili paste
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp aniseed

Soup
6 c water
1/2 c soy sauce
2 lb beef chuck, trimmed of fat, and cut into 1.5″ cubes
10 oz spinach, trimmed, rinsed, and drained
1/2 lb flat wheat flour noodles, like fettucine, prepared, rinsed, and drained
3 tbsp scallions, minced

Directions

Heat the pressure cooker pot over medium-high. Add the oil and heat. Add the seasonings and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the water and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Add the beef and bring back to a boil. Cover and seal. Bring the pressure up to 8lb pressure (first ring on a Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker) and then let cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the pressure to dissipate. Uncover, skim off the fat, and fish out the cinnamon sticks and ginger slices. Add the spinach and bring to a boil. Put the noodles in bowls and ladle the soup over them. Sprinkle with scallions and serve.