Lemongrass beef stew with noodles

Name: Lemongrass beef stew with noodles
Prep time: 16 min
Cook time: 31 min
Total time: 47 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon chopped Ginger; 2 chopped Garlic Clove; 3 Lemongrass Stalks; 2 tblsp Coriander Leaves; 2 sliced Red Chilli; 2 tblsp Vegetable Oil; 250g Beef; 2 tblsp Soy Sauce; 1 tsp Five Spice Powder; 1 tsp Brown Sugar; 400ml Beef Stock; 100g Rice Noodles; To serve Lime

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Thai flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 46 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 47 min total

1 tablespoon chopped Ginger
2 chopped Garlic Clove
3 Lemongrass Stalks
2 tblsp Coriander Leaves
2 sliced Red Chilli
2 tblsp Vegetable Oil
250g Beef
2 tblsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Five Spice Powder
1 tsp Brown Sugar
400ml Beef Stock
100g Rice Noodles
To serve Lime

Step-by-step instructions

step 1.
Put the ginger, garlic, lemongrass, coriander and 1 chilli in a food processor, then pulse until puréed. Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat. Add the purée and cook for 5 mins. Stir in the beef, soy, five-spice, sugar and stock. Put on a lid and bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 hr 15 mins. Remove the lid and cook for a further 15 mins until the beef is tender.
step 2.
Just before serving, prepare noodles following pack instructions. Drain well, then divide between 2 bowls and spoon over the beef stew. Serve sprinkled with the remaining chilli and coriander leaves, with lime wedges for squeezing over.

Why this works on a weeknight

Lemongrass beef stew with noodles lands at about 47 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Quick Soups & Stews collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Lemongrass beef stew with noodles actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥣 Quick Soups & Stews Beef Thai