Asian Beef with Noodles

Cook the beef as if for a stew and serve over noodles.  Add mushrooms and sautéed or braised veggies, and you have the kind of noodles eaten in China routinely.
2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, diced
3-6 cloves garlic - your choice
1-inch fresh ginger, chopped
1 medium hot red chili pepper, sliced

1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp Nam Pla fish sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
about 1-2 cups water

1/2 lb chinese noodles (see Cook's note)
18-20 small baby bok choy
long, thin fresh straw mushrooms
toasted sesame seeds for topping

Preheat oven to 375F. Heat a glug of canola oil in a large Dutch oven, and brown the beef cubes in several batches. Remove beef to a bowl. Add a bit more canola oil, if necessary and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper, and cook another 2-3 minutes, until very fragrant.

Return the beef to the pot and add the soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Add just enough water to barely submerge the beef.

Stir, cover and place in oven. Cook an hour. Remove from oven, uncover and stir gently. Re-cover and bake another hour in the oven.

During the last half hour of baking, get the noodles and veggies ready. Cook the noodles in well-salted water. In another pot, boil salted water and blanch the bok choy for a minute or so. Use tongs to remove the bok choy to a colander. Place mushrooms in the same water as the bok choy and blanch for another minute. Drain. Finally, drain noodles separately, reserving pasta water.

To serve, place a serving of noodles in a bowl. Top with 3-4 bok chow, some beef and a ladleful of sauce, and some mushrooms. Add a bit of pasta water if a bit more liquid is needed. Top with sesame seeds.

Serves 6-8.

Cook's Note: Almost any Asian noodles will work, such as Udon or wide Thai rice noodles. You can even use spaghetti.