Dear friends,
By day we bake on a beach or tromp through parks, on the lookout for alligators and sandhill cranes. But when the sun goes down, the snow flies. That’s when we flick on the TV in our camper here in Florida to watch athletes compete in the Olympics in Beijing.
At one time I loved skiing as much as I loved Asian cuisine. My skiing days are over but at least I can still enjoy a good Chinese dinner. The Chinese noodle soup I made Saturday is how Tony and I celebrated skiing, Asian food and the Beijing Olympics all rolled into one.
I wish the Olympians in Beijing could enjoy the warming, delicious cinnamon beef and noodles I made for watching ski jumping on Saturday. It’s a dish that’s made for cold weather.
The fabulous cookbook author Nina Simonds, whose recipe I cribbed from ninasimonds.com, remembers cinnamon beef as a favorite street food from her days as a student in Taipei. She writes, “Nothing comforted me more when I was hungry, homesick, or chilled to the bone than a large bowl of those sumptuous noodles in broth, topped with pieces of tender, soy-braised meat and some crisp-tender green vegetables.”
She developed this recipe in homage to her favorite “intoxicatingly delicious” cinnamon beef noodles.
CHEF CHANG’S CINNAMON BEEF NOODLES
1 tsp. safflower or corn oil
Chile-Cinnamon Seasonings:
6 scallions, trimmed, cut into 1 ½ inch sections, and smashed lightly with the flat side of a knife
6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed lightly with the flat side of a cleaver and thinly sliced
4 slices fresh ginger (about the size of a quarter), smashed lightly with the flat side of a knife
1 ½ tsp. hot chile paste
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. anise seed
Soup:
8 ½ cups water
½ cup soy sauce
2 lbs. chuck or beef stew meat, trimmed of fat and gristle, and cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
10 ounces spinach, trimmed, rinsed, and drained
8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked until just tender, rinsed under warm water and drained
3 tbsp. minced scallions
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until hot, about 30 seconds. Add the chile-cinnamon seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the water and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Add the beef and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the beef is very tender. Skim the surface to remove any impurities or fat. Remove the ginger slices and cinnamon sticks and discard.
Add the spinach to the soup, stir, cover, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until it wilts. Divide the noodles among six soup bowls. Ladle the meat, spinach, and broth over the noodles and sprinkle with the scallions. Makes six servings.
GUT CHECK
What I cooked recently:
Slow cooker sour orange pork roast, rice, fried plantains; cream of wheat; grilled filet mignon, baked potato, broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and olive oil, with a delicious Apothic pinot noir; Chinese cinnamon beef noodle soup.
What I ate out/carried in:
Tomato soup and half a chicken salad sandwich at Panera; a poblano omelet and fruit cup at IHOP; roast mojo pork, fried plantains, steamed duck and rice with black beans from Presidente Supermarket; Italian wedding soup from Doris Italian Market & Bakery in Jupiter, Fl.; potato and sausage soup from my friend, Ric; grilled grouper over a Greek salad with warm pita at Souvlaki grill in West Palm Beach; a cinnamon crunch bagel and coffee at Panera; a baked stuffed oyster, gyoza, pepper beef stir fry, sugared doughnut and mango ice cream at Mikata Buffet in Jensen Beach; Thai chicken soup and a citrus Asian crunch salad (both new items, both yummy) at Panera; mojo grilled chicken, fried plantains, rice and beans from La Granja in Riviera Beach; Guatemalan sesame cookies (champurradas) from Shaddai Bakery in Riviera Beach; chicken and waffles at Farmer Girl in Lake Worth.
THE MAILBAG
From Barbara M.:
Glad that you are in Florida. It is not only cold here but we have been plowing almost daily.
I know you have fond memories of West Point Market. One of the things I miss the most is their guacamole mix. I looked in Russ’s cookbook and it isn’t there. I have tried other spices and can’t come up with anything that approaches their mix. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you.
Dear Barbara:
Guacamole mix?? I missed trying that product — probably because I was a guac purist who made it with mashed avocados and maybe a dash of hot sauce, period. These days I’m not as rigid so I, too, would like to know how West Point gussied up guacamole. If anyone has an idea — even if not the blueprints for the entire spice mix — please send me an email. I will share and maybe we can piece together this puzzle.
See Jane Cook 