March 19, 2009

Ramen Vegetable & Steak Stir-fry


I have loved noodles way back from when I can remember. Whenever we would go out to restaurants in India, my first choice always would be noodles. But I never waited around for restaurant trips to enjoy these. The Maggi noodles that we get in India was probably one of my favourite quick-fix food back home. My friends and I would come home from college, hungry, and quickly put together the delicious Masala maggi noodles and be transported to noodle heaven. Even now, they never fail to remind me that the next time I go home to India, I would have to make the noodles for our gathering, just for old times sake! ;-)

But in the US the flavors of Chinese food is markedly different from the Indo-Chinese versions that we were used to. I rarely enjoy the noodles available here (preferring fried rice more) but once in a while would long for the flavor of Indo-Chinese food. This recipe is one such making use of the very cheap Ramen Noodle Soup mix, creating a very distinct and flavorful stir-fried noodles. Those who long for the Masala flavors of Maggi would definitely love this. Make sure that you use the Oriental flavor of the ramen noodle which is what lends this dish the extraordinary flavor.

Eventhough the recipe mentions frozen veggies, I have used fresh carrots (slice thin at an angle), broccoli and white button mushrooms. Vegetarians can make the same stir-fried noodles without the steak which I guarantee would be just as good. Do try this out and let me know how it turned out!

I bought the Pillsbury Best of the Bake-Off Cookbook a few months back and have had my eyes on this particular recipe for some time. As soon as I get a chance, I would definitely try out more recipes from the book and share them with you.


Recipe (Makes 4 - 1 1/2 cup servings) :

Beef tip steaks - 1 lb, cut crosswise into 1" wide strips
Garlic cloves - 2, minced
Sesame oil or Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Cayenne pepper - 1/4 tsp
Oriental Ramen Noodle soup - 1 package (3oz)
Water - 2 cups
Frozen broccoli, Carrots, Waterchestnuts and Red peppers - 1 (1 lb) package
Sesame oil or Vegetable oil - 1 tsp
Whole mushrooms - 1 (4.5oz) jar, drained
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Green onions - 4

Method:

In a medium bowl, combine beef strips, garlic, 1 tbsp sesame oil and ground red pepper.

Toss to coat and set aside.

Remove noodles from the package.

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan.

Break block of noodles into 3 pieces and add to water with frozen vegetables.

Return to a boil.

Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender, stirring occasionally. Drain well.

Return vegetable mixture to the saucepan.

Cover and keep warm.

Rub 1 tsp sesame oil over a large skillet or wok.

Heat over medium-high heat until hot.

Add steak, cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.

Stir in vegetable mixture, mushrooms and soy sauce; heat thoroughly.

Garnish with green onions.

Source: Recipe by Linda Morten, Pillsbury Best of the Bake-off Cookbook.



Tips:
  1. I used fresh vegetables like carrots, broccoli and mushrooms for the stir-fry.
  2. I didnt use water chestnuts because I am not crazy about them. I would believe green peppers would work as well as the red peppers, both of which I havent used for this trial. I also havent garnished with green onions.
  3. The fresh vegetables can either be cooked either by boiling or in a microwave (which I did) - except the mushrooms.
  4. Experiment with additional veggies like celery, peapods, baby corn, onions and chopped cabbage.

I am sending this Ramen Noodle Stirfry to Presto Pasta Nights guest hosted by Aquadaze of Served With Love. Check out the event announcement.


Just reminding you that the deadline for Lets go nuts : Almonds being hosted right here on Tasty treats is March 31. So rush in your delicious entries with almonds to jz.tastytreats@gmail.com. Multiple entries are welcomed. I would love to feature recipes by non-bloggers too. So friends (you know who you are!!) send me your favourite recipes using almonds and a picture of the featured dish and I will include yours in the round-up as well.

Have a great day!!

13 comments:

Finla said...

I am sure i am much older than you. So whe i was youngit was Maggi and i used to love them. Mom didn't buy always as she told it was expensive at that time.

FH said...

Hi JZ, I have been very very busy today, trying to clean up the fridge and cook everything in it and trying to surf the blogs all in one day! :D

My kids flip over Ramen Chicken flavor noodles, great way to dress it up with Steak, looks delicious.

Enjoy, have a great weekend. Weather is fab here now, so will be a very busy weekend for me. Will see if I can sow some seeds, may be too early! :)

Lavanya said...

I too like maggi very much..today also i made the same as breakfast..your stir fry looks delicious n yummy!!

Dori said...

That looks great... I really enjoy noodles, too :)

Hema said...

Nice recipe. I should have try with Maggi!I have lots of them.:)

suvi said...

Maggi quite revolutionised the noodle scene in India didn't it? We absolutely digg ramen...this one's looking delicious :)

Vani said...

That looks wonderful, JZ! I still stock Maggi masala noodles coz my daughter loves them! I think all kids do, like we used to. I recently tried their lemon chicken flavor and it was pretty good!

A_and_N said...

Thats the best looking Ramen Noodles pic I have ever seen! The thing abt Ramen noodles here though is that the tastemaker contains beef extract so we cant use that. But in India, I switched my loyalty from Maggi to top Ramen :D

Noor said...

simply amazing.

Ivy said...

The dish sounds amazing.

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights. I do love to hear about those quick "add to a mix" dinner and I've always loved Maggi liquid seasoning. Never seen Maggi noodles though. Now I'm on a hunt.

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

my hubby uses canon 5d camera :) what do u use? i am sure urs is a professional camera too.

Chutneytales said...

Hi first time here..Wonderful recipe..Its looking soo good ..Thats a neat presentation :)