vietnamese beef noodle soup

Oh look, another evening of soup! Actually, we're quite pro soup in this house, but only because we're fairly ruthless about switching recipes - relentlessly stick with roasted veg, and you'll soon get bored, flatulent or both.

We've got a few versions of spicy, zingy Asian soups to ring the changes, but this is one of my favourites, not least because it's super-quick, and really packed with flavour and health-giving good vibes from the ginger.

Sadly it's not quite as brilliant as usual; I think the lack of lemongrass tells, we didn't have any mint and I could've put in more lime juice this time. Still good mind.

Wine Time
Thai cuisine is bursting with aromatic herbs, spices, acidity and sweetness, so the basic rules of thumb are:

• Avoid high tannins - they are not friends with spices;
• Go for something with acidity and some residual sweetness.

Gewurtztraminer is a pretty trad choice, and would work here, as would an off-dry Riesling, but if you're feeling radical go with a Chenin Blanc. It has lots of fruit and some residual sugar even in the dry versions. If you'd like more tropical fruit, go with with a South African, or if you're feeling classic, Vouvray is your best bet.

sources
vietnamese beef noodle soup - Waitrose Kitchen, Feburary 2012, p88