Supper Club: Steak, seaweed and soba noodles

By Meg Walker
12th Dec 2023

Supper Club: Steak, seaweed and soba noodles

This simple beef noodles stir-fry is made with seaweed, which is packed with vitamin A and magnesium. A tasty superfood supper if ever there was one.

Don’t be thrown off by the seaweed in this recipe. It’s not only super easy to cook with and store, but it’s also very good for you.

Seaweed and other water plants like kelp are highly nutritious, they contain large amounts of vitamin A, which is needed for good eyesight, can help to prevent dry eyes and night blindness, and generally improves your vision. Seaweed is also a great source of magnesium, which is essential to eye health. It relaxes the eye muscles, helping to prevent twitching of the eyes and even ocular migraines. Magnesium also helps prevent too much calcium being absorbed into the body, which can lead to cloudy cataracts.

Once you buy a packet of dried seaweed, you’ll have it on hand to rehydrate at your convenience and add it to as many things as you like. I love to add a little sprinkling of seaweed to many dishes, including salads and even my green smoothies.

Caroline Artiss’ steak, seaweed and soba noodles
Serves 2

Ingredients

200g dried soba noodles
2 tbsp dried seaweed
2 tbsp algae oil or oil of your choice
2 tsp sesame oil
3 big garlic cloves, finely chopped
225g sirloin steak, sliced into strips
5 spring onions, thinly sliced lengthways
1 tsp sesame seeds

For the dressing

3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp white pepper

Method

Start by preparing the noodles. Put a large saucepan of water over medium heat and bring to the boil. When the water is boiling, add the noodles and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until just soft. Drain and rinse the noodles quickly under cold running water to stop further cooking. Set aside.
While the noodles are cooking, put the seaweed into a medium mixing bowl and pour over 500ml water. Set aside to rehydrate for 10 minutes – the seaweed will expand and soak up some of the water. Drain off any excess water.
Whisk together the soy sauce, honey and pepper for the dressing in a small bowl.
Now you are ready to stir-fry. Heat the algae and sesame oils together in a wok set over medium-high heat. When the wok is hot and almost smoking, add the garlic, then the steak and spring onions, and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Once the steak is browned all over, add the rehydrated seaweed and stir-fry together for another 15 seconds, then add the cooked noodles and the dressing. Quickly stir everything together and keep the wok on the heat for another 30 seconds to make sure all the sauce is absorbed by the noodles.
Serve steaming-hot, straight from the wok, with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top.