Cinnamon Beef Noodles

First things first: I AM THE GREATEST CINNAMON BEEF NOODLE COOK WHAT EVER LIVED! FEAR ME!

Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, the recipe:

CINNAMON BEEF NOODLES
1 teaspoon safflower or corn oil (I usually use peanut oil; it needs to be an oil that can handle high heat without freaking out)

Chile Cinnamon Seasonings:
6 green onions, trimmed and cut into 1½" sections
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (or you can press them)
4 slices fresh root ginger, peeled and minced
1 ½ t. hot chile paste (start with this amount and adjust if desired)
2 cinnamon sticks
1-2 stars anise

8½ cups water
½ cup soy sauce (or a bit less tamari)
2 lb. beef chuck or stew meat, fat trimmed, cut into 1½" cubes
10 oz. spinach, trimmed, rinsed and drained (I usually choose the easy method and buy prepared spinach for salad)
½ lb. flat Chinese wheat flour noodles, cooked and drained (use a fairly hefty noodle for this dish)
3 T. minced green onions or chives for garnish

Prep the Chile Cinnamon Seasonings and put them into a bowl. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until it's ripply-hot, about 30 seconds. Slap in the entire contents of the Chile Cinnamon Seasonings bowl and stir-fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Depending on how much chile paste you added, this process may make you cough and open the windows for ventilation. EET EES STRONG LIKE BOOL! Add the water and soy sauce and bring to a boil, then add the beef and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the beef is very tender. Fish out the anise and cinnamon sticks and discard, and skim the broth to remove impurities and/or fat.

When ready to serve, bring back to a boil. Add the spinach and cook just until it is wilted. Place cooked noodles into serving bowls and ladle the soup over them, or get totally lazy and just tip the noodles directly into the soup to serve. Makes 6 generous servings.

The flavor improves the next day, although the spinach doesn't look as pretty.

Contributor: Soozcat (shamelessly stolen from Nina Simonds' Asian Noodles)