Slow Cooker Beef Ramen Soup

It's November in Minnesota and the meteorologists are already talking about windchill. (Windchill is 22º here this morning while the ambient temperature is 33º.) Whenever I hear windchill, I think about reaching for my slow cooker and making some soup.

This" Let's Dish" recipe is quite simple and the slow cooker makes it a breeze. But if you want to make it special, I made a couple of changes. The recipe called for stew meat, but I substituted boneless short ribs. It dramatically elevates the taste and makes for a big jump in the texture of the cooked beef (melt-in-your-mouth delicious).

 The second change I made was to the ramen noodles. The recipe called for regular ramen noodles...the kind that were the staple of our diet in our college days. But I used Lotus Foods Organic Millet and Brown Rice Ramen. They are delicious...gluten free...vegan...and loaded with 8 grams of protein. If your local grocery store doesn't carry them, they are available at both Costco and Amazon.com.

Blogger's Note: This recipe will make four, entree size bowls of soup. If you are using it as a side dish, this will make eight, 1-cup servings.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless short ribs, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger

8 cups beef broth

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

8 ounces snow peas

Juice of one lime

4 chopped scallions 

2 cakes ramen noodles

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

Chili oil (for garnish)

Directions

Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, working in batches so as not to crowd the pan and sear until well browned. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add the onion, garlic, ginger, beef broth, mushrooms, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil to the slow cooker with the beef. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, add the snow peas, lime juice and green onions to the slow cooker and stir to combine.

Meanwhile, cook the Ramen noodles according to package directions. Place cooked noodles in individual bowls and ladle the soup over top. Garnish with chopped cilantro and a splash of chili oil. Serve with Sriracha Sauce on the side.

Wine pairing: Zinfandel

Grogs and Goldie, 1956