Jamie Oliver says he made this one in 5 minutes, 12 seconds. I wasn't nearly as quick, but it did come together for me in about 10 minutes, not counting the time needed to bring the noodle-soaking water up to a boil.

I've made a couple of adjustments; in the original recipe, Oliver says to slice the ginger into thin slices, but this means there are, well, ginger slices in the finished noodle bowl. I'm not a fan of biting into a hunk of ginger, so the second time I made the recipe, I grated the ginger instead, and was much happier with the results. It doesn't take any longer to grate it than it does to slice it, so there's no downside. Use whichever technique you prefer.

The original recipe calls for 4 oz. of rice noodles (you may find them labeled "rice sticks" in your grocery store), but that gave me too many noodles. In my second attempt, I reduced the amount by half, and had plenty of noodles for one serving.

If you can't find shiitake or oyster mushrooms, you can substitute regular button mushrooms, although the flavor won't be nearly as woodsy. Dried shiitakes could also be used: simply soak them in hot water while you're soaking the noodles. The original recipe calls for adding the mushrooms together with the chicken broth, but I thought they tasted better if they were browned a bit first.

Prep Time: about 5 minutes (plus time to bring water to the boil)
Cook Time: about 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving

2 to 4 oz. thin rice noodles (also called rice sticks)
4 oz. beef sirloin
Olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt
1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
A thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced or grated
1 fresh red chili, seeded and thinly sliced (If not available, use serranos, or whatever small chilis you can find)
A small handful of shiitake and oyster mushrooms, wiped clean and torn or sliced (about 1/2 cup sliced)
1 cup chicken stock
1 baby bok choy, tough stem removed, sliced lengthwise into quarters

Boil about 2 quarts of water and soak the noodles according to package directions, about 8 minutes. Rub the beef with the olive oil, sprinkle with the cumin and salt and rub the spices in. Place in a really hot frying pan and sear on one side. Turn the beef over, add the onion, ginger, and chili, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring the vegetables. Add the mushrooms and brown lightly for 1 or 2 minutes, then add the stock and bok choy and cook for another minute. Remove the beef and thinly slice. Drain the noodles and add to the pan. Pour the noodles and broth into a large bowl and top with the beef slices.