Hearty beef soup

Hot soup is a truly wonderful thing to have on a cold winter afternoon (or, in the case of the Philippines' rainy season, a stormy day!) It's a soothing respite from the weather, and soup made "from scratch" (short of making the noodles from flour) makes it all the more special.

This beef soup has the goodness of... um... beef, and ginger gives it that extra warmth. This takes more than an hour to make, however, so I reserve this special brew for weekends.



Ingredients:
500g gravy beef or casserole beef
1 litre water
half a thumb of ginger, peeled and crushed
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 lumps dried noodles
spring onion, chopped for garnish
salt and pepper
egg and chopped cabbage (optional)

Procedure:
Chop the beef into cubes.

Fill a pot with a litre of water. Put in the beef, ginger, onion, along with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. When it starts to boil, reduce heat and scoop out the muck that has risen to the surface. Then set the heat to as low as possible with the cover slightly ajar, and let the it simmer merrily for an hour, or until beef is tender. After an hour, this will also be the best time to have a taste of the soup (be careful, of course, as it's hot) and adjust taste accordingly with salt and some more pepper if desired.

Cook the noodles (as per package directions) and eggs (optional) separately.

Place the noodles in bowls, then ladle over the beef soup. Garnish with spring onions. Looks and tastes much better with boiled eggs and chopped cabbage.

Serve and enjoy.

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