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Ree Drummond’s easy noodle bowl recipe is a perfect lunch option that’s totally portable. The Pioneer Woman star uses a unique marinating method and the marinade doubles as the delicious dressing.

Ree Drummond smiles wearing a multicolor top standing at a counter on the set of 'Today'
Ree Drummond | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Ree Drummond’s beef noodle bowl recipe is a perfect portable lunch

Drummond demonstrated how to make her beef noodle salad bowl on an episode of The Pioneer Woman. Since life is busy, she leans on meal ideas that are easy to make ahead, store in the refrigerator, and grab on the go.

“These days, I’m always running here and there and portable food has become a way of life in our house,” she said.

Drummond noted she had to head to town to do work so she made a beef noodle salad bowl to take along for lunch. “The bonus is, I’m going to make up three extra salad bowls and keep them in the fridge for when we need it,” she said.

The Food Network host grilled a rib-eye steak sprinkled with salt and pepper. “To flavor the steak, I’m taking a little bit of an unusual approach,” she explained. “I’m marinating it after it’s cooked.”

Drummond’s steak marinade is an amazing combination of flavors

For the marinade, Drummond combined olive oil with what she called “pretty much all my favorite flavors in the world.” She added ponzu sauce, toasted sesame oil, hot chili oil, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, minced ginger, and garlic and stirred everything together.

“I could make this marinade in my sleep. It is so versatile,” she explained. “You can marinate any meat, you can use it as a dressing. It is just so incredibly tasty.”

She poured some of the marinade over the grilled steak. “Obviously when you usually marinate a steak, you marinate the raw steak for a few hours before you grill it,” Drummond said. “This is sort of a quick alternative.”

‘The Pioneer Woman’ star assembled the noodle bowl

Drummond poured the remaining marinade over cooked spaghetti, added sliced green onions, and got to work assembling the noodle bowls.

The Food Network host combined oil, minced shallot, garlic, ginger, and curry powder in a skillet and cooked it until it was soft. In a bowl, she whisked together peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, coconut milk, hot chili oil, salt, lime juice, and the skillet ingredients.

To assemble the bowls, she placed peanut sauce in a container and sliced the steak. “You can’t imagine how flavorful this meat is,” Drummond said. “This is a little bit on the rare side but I love rare ribeye. That is definitely my preference. Never more than medium-rare.”

She placed noodles in a bowl, nestled a container of sauce in the center, and arranged the beef slices along the edges. “Wow, talk about a tasty lunch right there,” Drummond said. She sealed the containers and refrigerated the noodle bowl.

The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.

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