This is without a doubt, my most favorite dish! I could literally eat it every single day. It is a traditional Uzbek & Kazakhstanian dish. My dad taught me how to cook it, however I have adapted it to my own version after making it several times. The pasta that I pair it with is rice vermicelli pasta. This special pasta and one of the vegetables that I use to make this dish are sold only at Asian, and international stores. I know it may require a special trip to the store just for these 2 ingredients but trust me, if you omit these two ingredients or substitute them with something else, it will definitely not taste the same because those two ingredients are the most important in the recipe and they literally make this dish! But if you absolutely have to substitute the rice pasta then I would use angel hair pasta.
Rice Pasta with Beef & Vegetable Gravy {Serves 10-12}
Ingredients:
- 1 Pack of Rice Vermicelli (I will put a picture below)
- 3 Tablespoons Oil
- 2.5 LB Beef (I use shoulder cut, chuck roast, stew meat)
- 5 Tablespoons of Ketchup (I used Organic Ketchup)
- 64 oz. V8 Original 100% Vegetable juice
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 4 Potatoes
- 2 Large carrots
- 3 Ribs of Celery
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Jalapeno pepper
- 1/3 pound of Green Beans
- 3/4 Large Chinese Radish (I will put a picture below)
- Fresh, frozen or Dry dill, for garnish
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- Mrs.Dash or Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning
Directions:
1) Thoroughly wash the beef. Then cut it into thin strips. Set it aside in a plate.
2) Wash all of the vegetable and cut them. Peel the Chinese radish ( I use a peeler) then cut it into little cubes. Cut the celery ribs into cubes. Cut the red pepper into thin, matchstick pieces. Cut the potatoes into cubes. Cut the green beans into 3. Cut the carrots into thin, matchstick pieces. Set all the veggies aside in a big bowl.
3) Heat 3 Tablespoons of oil in a large pot, On Medium-High heat(I did 7). Add the beef in and add some salt, pepper and Mrs.Dash to it. Cook the beef until it is cooked through. Then add the diced onion to the pot and cook until the onion is soft and translucent. Add some more salt and pepper and mix the beef well. Boil a full tea kettle of water.
4) Add the Ketchup to the pot, mix well and let it simmer for a few minutes. Then add the V8 Vegetable Juice to the pot. Mix it and bring it to a light boil.
5) Add the boiled water from the tea kettle into the pot. Bring it to a boil. Add all the vegetables into the pot. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover all the veggies, if not add more boiled water. Close the pot with a lid and let it cook on Med heat for about 30-45minutes until the veggies are tender.
6) In the last 10 minutes, open the pot with the gravy and add some fresh, frozen or dried dill. A little bit of fresh or dry parsley and cilantro Then add the garlic cloves through the garlic press. Add a little salt and Mrs.Dash or Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning. Mix well. Cover pot and turn it off. The beef and veggie gravy is now done.
15 minutes before gravy is done cooking, you can start cooking the rice pasta. I usually make half the pack of pasta for lunch and the other half for dinner because the rice pasta tastes best when it is fresh and hot. There should be directions on the pack for how to cook it, but just encase there isn’t or the directions are in Chinese, then basically what you do is bring half a medium pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and a few drops of oil (That way the rice pasta won’t stick). Throw in half a pack of the rice vermicelli and it cooks in literally like 3 to 5 minutes (depending on brand, some may cook longer, it’s ready when the pasta is tender). Then just drain out all the water and the rice pasta is ready!
* I serve this dish hot. First I put the rice pasta in the bowl, then I top it with the Beef and vegetables and the gravy on top. The beef and veggie gravy tastes great if not better on the second day!*
