Vietnamese Spinach, Beef, and Tofu Soup

What I like most about this soup is that it takes only a couple of minutes’ cooking time and it’s made with my favorite vegetable, spinach. The soup contains just enough meat to offset the spinach with a savory broth. And the technique, a quick sautéing of marinated strips of beef with a little water, fish sauce, and vegetables, is good to remember for last-minute, improvised Asian soups.

If you live near an Asian market, you might want to experiment with Chinese spinach or water sp