Thai Steak Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons olive oil (or olive/avocado oil blend)

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced 

2 cups carrots, thinly sliced, or pre-shredded from the grocery

2 cups snow peas, trimmed and julienned

6 ounces thin sliced shiitake mushroom caps

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 red jalapenos (1 chopped, 1 thinly sliced into rounds)

     *Or hot pepper of your choice – I used 2 frozen habaneros from last year’s garden and a fresh serrano – HOT! But good.

4 cups bone broth, beef or chicken

1 15.5 oz can of coconut milk

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Vietnamese fish sauce   

1 tablespoon white sugar     

2 whole cloves   

2 whole star anise 

1 cinnamon stick

Kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

2 cups cooked short grain rice

12 ounces beef loin or top sirloin steak, very thinly sliced

     *If you can’t get the butcher to slice it for you, put the whole steak in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour, then slice it with the thinnest blade of your food processor.  If you don’t have a food processor, a mandolin will do, but it’s more work.

1 cup chopped basil leaves

     *I couldn’t find fresh, so I used the fresh stir in paste from the produce section.

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup scallions, thinly sliced 

1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Heat the butter and oil in a medium to large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat until hot. Add the onions and cook until soft. Stir in the carrots, snowpeas, mushrooms, garlic, ginger and chopped peppers. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, 2 cups water, coconut milk, the soy and fish sauces, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Add the cinnamon stick and a cheesecloth sachet of the cloves and anise.

     *If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can just throw them in and fish them out before serving, if you don’t mind hunting them down.  I used a metal mesh tea ball that hooks to the side of the teacup, in this case, the pot.

Bring to a boil.

Assembly

Place 1/2 cup rice in each of 4 serving bowls. Cut the steak into thin strips and divide among the bowls.

Remove the herb sachet and cinnamon stick from the soup and ladle the simmering broth and vegetables into the bowls.

     *The heat of the broth will cook the steak if it’s sliced thinly enough, but if you’re concerned that it’s cooked through, you can add it to the soup and let it simmer a few minutes before ladling over the rice.

Serve with basil, cilantro, scallions and lime wedges.