Beef Teriyaki Noodles

The news about the virus is getting more specific now. Italy has cases. South Korea has cases. The WHO is being cautious about what to call it. I read carefully and I do not panic, because panicking is unproductive and because I have lived through things that deserved more immediate alarm than this and come through them by paying attention and doing the next necessary thing.

What the next necessary thing is, this week: Helen's Valentine's Day dinner. We have not done anything elaborate for Valentine's Day since the children were small and the expectations were theoretical rather than actual. Now we do a good dinner at home — Helen's choice this year, as it alternates, and she chose beef tenderloin, which is ambitious and correct. She has been talking about it since Thursday and it will be ready Friday evening and we will eat at the kitchen table with the good plates and the bottle of wine that David left at Christmas that we have been saving for an occasion worth saving it for, and Valentine's Day is such an occasion, because we are sixty-seven and sixty-six and we have been married for forty years and we are still choosing to cook for each other on February fourteenth, which is as good a definition of love as any I know.

I will make the dessert. Helen has not specified what she wants and so I will make what I want, which is poached pears — winter pears poached in white wine with a vanilla bean and a cinnamon stick and a strip of lemon peel, served warm with a spoonful of whipped cream. Simple. Seasonal. The right dessert for February. The right dessert for forty years of marriage celebrated on a cold Vermont Tuesday in the farmhouse where we have eaten together almost every night since 1982.

Helen’s tenderloin is Friday’s occasion, but the days before Valentine’s Day still require feeding, and this beef teriyaki noodle dish is what I turn to when the week calls for something satisfying but not ceremonial. It keeps me in the register of beef — the weight and sear of it in a hot pan — without asking more of a Tuesday than a Tuesday can give. There is something right, I think, about honoring an approaching occasion with a quieter version of the same instinct: cook well, eat together, pay attention.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb flank steak or sirloin, thinly sliced against the grain
8 oz lo mein or udon noodles
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 cup broccoli florets
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Make the sauce. Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, mirin, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, toss with a few drops of sesame oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.
Sear the beef. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the beef in a single layer — work in batches if needed — and cook 2 to 3 minutes without stirring until well browned. Transfer to a plate.
Cook the vegetables. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add broccoli and bell pepper and stir-fry over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until just tender with a little char at the edges.
Bring it together. Return the beef to the pan along with the cooked noodles. Pour the sauce over everything and toss well over medium heat for 2 minutes, until the noodles are coated and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Serve. Divide into bowls and finish with sliced green onions and a scatter of sesame seeds.

Nutrition (per serving)

Beef Teriyaki Noodles — The Weeknight Rehearsal Before the Big Night