Rainy-Day Ramen

This dish can clearly be made regardless of weather, but the warmth of the spices in addition to temperature make it the perfect comfort food on a drizzly or stormy day.

Servings: 4

Time: 1 hour total

Ingredients:

5 ounces of white or oyster mushrooms

3 tablespoons of beef demi glaze

3 tablespoons of white miso paste

2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

4 hard boiled eggs

3-4 cloves of garlic, grated

3 scallions

1 small bunch of cilantro for garnish (optional)

1 medium bunch of bok choi

1-inch piece of ginger, grated

10-12 ounces of ramen noodles (rice noodles if going gluten free)

12 ounces of round steak

2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

1. Prepare the washed veggies: Matchstick-chop the stems of the bok choy and roughly chop the leaves into large bite-sized pieces. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. Thinly slice the scallions, separating the white bottoms and green tops. Slice the mushrooms into bite-sized pieces.

2. If your eggs are already boiled, skip to Step 3. If not: fill a medium pot with enough water to cover the eggs, and put water and eggs on high heat until the water comes to a rapid boil. Once that occurs, cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the eggs sit for exactly 10 minutes. Remove eggs from pot, and put into a bowl with water and ice to suspend the cooking process.

3. Season the round steak with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium until hot. Cook the steak 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until it reaches your desired degree of doneness. Transfer the steak to a plate, leaving any drippings in the pan. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes, loosely covering the plate with aluminum foil to keep warm.

4. Start boiling enough water for the noodles, according to the package instructions. Add noodles to water when at a rapid boil. Follow package instructions for timing.

5. To the pan with the steak drippings, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and heat on medium until hot. Add the garlic, ginger and white parts of the scallions, and cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly softened, stirring frequently. Add the choy sum and season with salt and pepper. Cook 1 to 3 minutes, or until the choy sum is slightly softened and wilted.

6. Transfer the pan ingredients to a medium-large sized pot over high heat. Stir in the mushrooms, beef demi-glaze, miso paste, soy sauce and 4 cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer 8-10 minutes to develop the flavors.

7. While the soup is boiling and the noodles are cooking, thinly slice the cooked steak. Add any steak juices from the cutting board into the soup. Transfer the sliced steak to a small bowl and toss with the hoisin sauce until well coated.

8. When the noodles are cooked to your liking, drain thoroughly. Stir the cooked noodles into the soup and remove from heat. To plate your dish, divide the soup and noodles between the bowls and lay the coated flank steak on top. Slice the hard boiled eggs in half and add two halves to each bowl. Garnish with the green parts of the scallions and the chopped cilantro. Enjoy!