Beef and rice noodle soup with lime and cilantro

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Makes: 6 main-course servings Boxed Vietnamese inspired pho beef broth, such as the Simply Asia brand, can be substituted for the homemade broth. Instead of the homemade boiled beef, chicken and sausage, you can swap in shredded roast chicken and sliced fully cooked chicken sausages. You can also thinly slice raw beef sirloin and add it to the simmering broth to cook briefly.

2 quarts beef broth, from recipe above

1 ½ tablespoons each: soy sauce, fish sauce 2 teaspoons each: grated fresh ginger, Asian sesame oil

1 serrano pepper or other hot green chile, very thinly sliced

Salt to taste

1 box (14 ounces) uncooked thin rice noodles 3 to 4 cups thinly sliced beef, chicken and sausage, from recipe above 4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh basil leaves

½ cup each, fresh: mint and cilantro leaves Sriracha hot sauce

Lime wedges

1. Heat broth with soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, sesame oil and chile in a medium saucepan to a simmer. Season with salt to taste. Let simmer while you prepare the rest of the soup.

2. Put noodles into a large bowl. Cover with very hot or boiling water. Let stand until noodles are nearly tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.

3. Divide noodles among 6 deep soup bowls. Top with the thinly sliced meats and green onions. Ladle broth into each bowl to cover all the ingredients. Pass basil, mint and cilantro leaves for guests to add. Pass Sriracha and lime wedges to add to broth as desired. Nutrition information per serving: 426 calories, 8 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 59 mg cholesterol, 55 g carbohydrates, 1 g sugar, 33 g protein, 1,743 mg sodium, 2 g fiber