Food and Wine, An Entire Year of Recipes

AMEX sent me Food and Wine, 2006, An Entire Year of Recipes in the mail for being a good customer.  That's frightening.  Great gift.  I scoured through the book and make a recipe tonight.  Delicious.  Sorry, no pictures.

Beef Sukiyaki Noodles - takes about 1/2 an hour tops, easy dish.  No surprises I didn't exactly follow the recipe so I will give you my recipe.

1 lb. dried fettuccine (don't use fresh, too sticky)
a little bit more than a 1/4 cup of soy sauce
a little bit more than a 1/4 cup sake
a little bit more than a 1/4 cup water
2 heaping T. sugar
1 1/2 lbs. beef sirloin cut thinly into 2 inch strips across the grain
2 medium sized sweet onions cut into 1/2  inch wedges (they fall apart which is perfect)
12 large shitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into quarters
4 scallions cut into matchsticks, white part and a little bit of the green part only
1 bunch watercress (cut off the thick stems on top)
3/4 lb. firm tofu cut into 1/2 inch cubes (firm)

Cook the pasta until al dente.  While it is cooking making the dish.  The key here is having everything cut up and ready to go before you begin.

Combine the soy sauce, sake, water and sugar and mix until sugar is dissolved.

In a large skillet, heat 1 T. vegetable oil until it is really hot.  Add the sirloin (season with kosher salt) and cook for about 2 minutes tops because you want it just partially cooked.  Take out and put on a plate for later.

Add another T. oil and then add in the onions.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Then add in the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are softened.  Add in the scallions and watercress and cook for about a minute, stirring until the watercress gets soft.  Return the meat and the juices that have accumulated on the plate and add in the tofu.  Mix.  Add in half of the soy mixture and bring to a boil, one minute tops. 

In the meantime, drain the pasta and divide into 5 bowls ( or less depending on how many you are feeding but I was feeding 5).  Pour the meat mixture over the pasta even amount in each bowl and the sauce from the pan.  Then take the last half of the soy mixture and pour evenly over each bowl until empty.

Serve.  Really a big hit.  A bit of a variation of the every day meal.  BTW, this could easily be made with more veggies and no meat if you were so inclined.