Beef Noodle Soup

Mild and quick. The white part is stronger; the green tops are softer and often scattered over at the end.

1. Trim off the hairy root and any tired tips of the green.
2. Line them up together and slice across into thin rings, or slice long thin strips at an angle.

Garlic is added in small pieces so it spreads through the dish. It burns in seconds, which turns it bitter, so it usually goes in after the onion, not before.

1. Pull one clove off the bulb. Trim off the hard little root end.
2. Lay the flat of your knife on the clove and press down firmly with the heel of your hand. The skin splits and slips off.
3. Slice it thinly, then rock the knife back and forth over the slices until the pieces are tiny. Or push the peeled clove through a garlic crusher.
4. In the pan it needs about 30 seconds to a minute, stirring, until it smells strong — then add the next ingredient.

Ready when: In the pan: fragrant and pale gold. Brown means it has gone too far.

Most noodles take only a few minutes — follow the packet, it varies a lot.

1. Egg noodles: into boiling water for 3–4 minutes, loosening them with a fork.
2. Rice noodles: usually just soak in just-boiled water for a few minutes until soft.
3. Drain, then toss with a few drops of oil or straight into the pan so they don't clump.

A boil is big bubbles rolling hard across the whole surface. A simmer is much gentler: small bubbles rising lazily, a few breaking the surface. Stews, sauces and soups simmer; boiling makes meat tough and sauces catch on the bottom.

1. Bring it up to the boil on a higher heat, then turn the heat down until the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer.
2. Check every few minutes and adjust — a lid on makes it hotter, a lid off lets it thicken.
3. Stir now and then, scraping the bottom, so nothing sticks and burns.

Ready when: Small, steady bubbles — not a still surface, not a rolling boil.

The brown crust is flavour. It forms only on a dry surface in a hot pan — wet meat or a crowded pan just steams.

1. Pat the meat dry with kitchen paper. Season it.
2. Get the oil hot (shimmering, maybe a wisp of smoke).
3. Lay the pieces in, away from you so the fat doesn't spit towards you, with space between them.
4. Then leave them alone for 2–4 minutes. Don't poke. When the underside is brown the meat lets go of the pan by itself — if it sticks, it isn't ready to turn.
5. Turn and brown the other side. Browning adds flavour; it does not make meat safe on its own — it still has to be cooked through.