Bulk Up Your Soups With One Prepped Steak Product

Convenient packages of pre-sliced beef are good for more than stir-fries and fried rice. Often simply labeled as stir-fry beef, these thin strips are also a great product to reach for when you want to bulk up soups and stews with some protein. It's a smart move to stock up when the meat goes on sale and save it for later, so all you have to do is reach into the freezer when your soup needs a boost.

Different cuts of steak can be sliced up for stir-fry beef — depending on your particular store, it might be flank, chuck, skirt, sirloin, round cuts, and other pieces that are too small to be sold as whole steaks. If the package doesn't specify, just ask at the butcher counter. Regardless of the cut, there are two easy ways to incorporate the steak into your favorite comforting soup recipes. 

Firstly, you can saute the strips beforehand: Get the pot very hot, season the meat with salt and pepper, and quickly sear it. Set aside the steak, and then cook your aromatics in the same pan, scraping up those browned bits as you do — this helps to build a deep savory flavor into your soup. Then, you can stir the meat back in at the end. The other option is to let the steak cook in the soup itself. This can work for brothy bases, but make sure the soup is well-seasoned before adding the beef, so it infuses the steak with flavor as it cooks.

There are tons of delicious soups that pair well with hearty steak, and the convenience of stir-fry strips makes it that much easier to combine the two. Use the pre-sear method to make a shortcut vegetable beef stew. Incorporate rich ingredients like tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, dark beer, red wine, or beef bouillon to develop a deep flavor more quickly. Once your vegetables (like carrots and potatoes) have simmered in your docked-up beef broth, stir in some frozen peas and the sauted beef. Stir-fry steak can add instant protein to taco soup, hearty lasagna soup, creamy mushroom bisque, or a spicy black bean number.

You can also take notes from noodle soups like ramen or pho to create a delicious base for your stir-fry steak. Add miso paste to boxed chicken broth to take it up a notch, and let the beef cook for a few minutes in the flavorful liquid. Add in cooked ramen noodles and finish with lots of toppings, like sliced green onions, sweet corn, nori, and a soft-boiled egg with a golden, jammy yolk. 

For a Vietnamese-inspired soup, simmer fresh ginger, onions, fish sauce, a bit of sugar, and whole spices like cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, and star anise in your favorite broth. Strain out the aromatics, and cook the steak quickly in the soup. Ladle the broth over cooked rice noodles, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, a pile of bean sprouts, and tender herbs like cilantro, Thai basil, or mint.