Ramen with Beef, Mushrooms, and Spinach

Ramen noodles have grown up, no longer are they the staple food for the poor college student. You'd be surprised what people have been making with these dried blocks of noodles. I know there is a restaurant in New York that is making ramen burgers, while I have yet to try it; it does pique my interest and taste buds.


David will tell you that I use ramen fairly often, I just don't use that salt filled seasoning packet that it comes with. I'd say at least once or twice a month on a rainy day, David will look at me and just say "Soup?" While I make my own version of chicken soup to use with the ramen, any kind of broth will work. I've even used ramen to make a quick lo mein if we have leftover meat from the night before. So when I was flipping through cookbooks for today's recipe this one caught my eye. I found it in Cook's Illustrated The Best Skillet Recipes. It has to be one of my favorite cookbooks out there, actually I'm in love with most of Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen books. Just a few changes to go with what we had on hand, but overall this was a great meal!

Enjoy!

Ramen with Beef, Mushrooms and Spinach
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated The Best Skillet Recipes

Ingredients


1 lb flank steak, sliced thin, against the grain
4 Tbs Soy Sauce, divided
2 Tbs Vegetable oil, divided
2 tsp Sesame Oil, divided
6 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin
6 oz white mushrooms, sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs ginger, grated
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbs fish sauce
4 packages instant ramen noodles, discard seasoning packets
2 tsp sugar
1 (6oz) bag, spinach


1. Pat beef dry with paper towels and toss with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil in skillet until shimmering. Add beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up clumps, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl.


2. Add remaining Vegetable and sesame oils to skillet and heat to shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.


3. Stir in broth. Break bricks of ramen into quarters and add to skillet. Bring to simmer and cook, tossing ramen constantly with tongs to separate, until ramen is just tender but there is still liquid in pan, about 2 minutes.


4. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Stir in spinach, handfuls at a time until wilted and sauce is thickened. Stir in beef and toss to combine.