Yesterday’s soup came about simply because of the random supply of ingredients I had in the fridge. Well, it wasn’t exactly random, but I found myself with an ample supply of vegetables and leftover beef that would have been ideal in a stir fry. Only, I really wasn’t in the mood for a stir fry, what I was really in the mood for, was a soup.
I thought about this for some time. I wondered if anyone had taken the flavors of a basic stir fry and transformed them into a delicious bowl of soup. I did a few searches, but literally turned up with nothing. That made me wonder… does this combination of ingredients simply not make for a good soup? Why has no one made a simple stir-fry soup? I thought about it and thought about it, and when I finally decided I would simply make the stir fry for dinner, I just couldn’t help it. I had to try and make a soup.
This really is pretty straightforward as far as a soup goes, and comes together rather quickly once you have your vegetables prepared. Really, you could probably use any combination of vegetables- but I would be cautious about using too many brassica vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage could conceivable overpower the delicate flavors of the soup if you use too much of it. As it is, the only brassica I used was a bit of bok choy, and that worked beautifully, because it provided some vegetable bulk from the stalk, and some tender greens from the leaves. If I didn’t have bok choy on hand, I would add some baby spinach or chard, simply because the greens added a lot.
After I had my soup made up, I decided that I wanted to serve it over lo mein noodles. I cooked up a half a package of lo mein, and then when it came time to serve the soup, I started by putting some of the noodles in the bottom of the bowls. The soup was ladled over the top of the noodles, and for the grown ups, a healthy dose of sriracha sauce really fit the bill perfectly. This soup was spicy, sweet, and full of delicious stir fry flavor. The noodles were fun to slurp up, and Andy honestly told me that I could make this soup over and over again- he would never tire of it. That’s really high praise!
One thing I want to comment on about the soup before I give you the recipe- and that is the sweetness of it. I found the broth to be a touch on the sweet side, but that was tamed greatly by the cider vinegar and the sriracha. The sweetness really came from the oyster sauce- and if you happen to have an oyster sauce that you love, but is excessively sweet, maybe start with less of it and add more to taste. If you don’t have any oyster sauce, I think a black bean sauce would also work well. Overall, this was such a delightfully different soup, I really don’t know why no one else has done this… maybe they have and I missed it. It was so tasty, it was almost addictive and I kept digging back into the bowl for just one more bite, and when it was gone, I had to ladle in a little more, just to make sure it was that good. The whole family enjoyed the combination of veggies, and it was a great way to use up a bit of leftover madness going on in the fridge.
Beef Stir Fry Soup
2 teaspoons peanut oil 1/2 large onion, sliced 1 carrot, peeled and bias cut 1 celery stalk, sliced thin on the bias 2 portobello mushroom caps, stems and gills removed, sliced thin 1 small zucchini, diced 1/2 red bell pepper, diced 2-3 stalks bok choy, stems diced, leaves chopped and set aside1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 cups beef broth 1 cup water 1/4 cup oyster sauce 3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce black pepper 3 scallions, chopped 1 can baby cut corn, drained and cut into bite sized pieces 3 cups leftover roast beef, diced 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 ounces cooked lo mein noodles sesame seeds and sriracha sauce for garnish (optional)
Directions:
In a soup pot, heat the peanut oil over medium heat. Add the onion slices, carrots, celery and portobello mushrooms. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the zucchini, bell pepper and bok choy stems. Cook and stir for another 3 minutes.
Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the broth, water, oyster sauce, soy sauce and black pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the bok choy leaves, scallions, baby corn and beef. Cook until heated through- about 5 more minutes. Stir in the apple cider vinegar.
Divide the cooked noodles among six bowls. Ladle soup over the top of the noodles. Add sriracha and sesame seeds to taste.
Makes about 6 servings.