Chinese Braised Beef Brisket with Daikon | The Ultimate Cantonese Comfort Food
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Author:
Mandy Fu
Servings
4
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
2 hours 5 minutes
Braised Beef Brisket with Daikon is the most iconic Cantonese comfort food. Now that the weather is getting chilly, this is the perfect dish to have on the stove. Just imagine a pot of tender, gelatinous beef simmering in a rich, aromatic broth. The steam fills your kitchen, and the whole house smells amazing. Doesn't it instantly make you feel cozy? You're going to love it.
Ingredients
- 680g / 1.5 lb beef brisket, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 3–5 slices Angelica root (白芷 / Baizhi), optional
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 5 scallions
- 2 inch ginger, crushed
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1.5 tbsp Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp char siu sauce
- 4-5 cups of water
- 680 g / 1.5 lb daikon radish
Directions
Add the beef to a big stock pot, pour in 2.5 liters of water, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Use a sieve to skim the foamy scum, then take the beef out and set it aside to drain.
- Preheat the clay pot over medium heat for about a minute. Add the oil, toss in all the aromatics and spices, and stir until fragrant—about 2–3 minutes. Add the blanched beef and stir for a few minutes or until the edges start to char slightly.
- Add 1.5 tbsp of Sichuan Dou Ban Jiang for depth and a mild kick of spice, 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce for color, and 1 tbsp of char siu sauce. Char siu sauce is not just for making BBQ pork. It adds a layer of sweetness and umami taste that really elevates the braising liquid.
- Pour in 4-5 cups of hot water, just enough to immerse everything. Bring it to a simmer, cover with a lid, then turn the heat to the lowest setting. Let it simmer for about 3 hours.
- About 40 minutes before the beef is ready, peel your daikon radish and cut it into big chunks. If you don't have daikon radish, carrots make a great substitute.
- Before adding the daikon to the beef, pick out all the aromatics and spices. They have done their job. We don't need them anymore.
- Add the daikon radish into the pot and let it simmer together with the beef for the last 30 minutes. The daikon will soak up the rich, savory flavors from the broth and become incredibly delicious.
- And that's it. The beef should now be chopstick-tender, the gelatinous bits are soft and silky, and the daikon is full of flavors. You can enjoy this dish with plain white rice, but I love to boil some noodles and just spoon the beef on the top with a couple ladle of the braising liquid.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
Ingredient Tips:
This dish is made with a cut called Niunan (牛腩) in Chinese. Although it translates as beef brisket, it is not the Western brisket, which usually comes from the chest area of the cow, trimmed very clean. Instead, Chinese niunan comes from the belly area, is more like a piece of untrimmed flank steak or skirt steak, with the silver skin, connective tissue, and some fat attached. Those silver skin layers are the soul of this dish. After slow cooking, they turn soft, gelatinous, and absolutely delicious. If you can't find untrimmed flank steak, below are the replacement options:
- The first replacement is beef shank, as it has lots of muscle groups, perfect for braising. In western supermarkets, shank is usually sold in cross-cuts with the bones. You have to cut the meat into bite-sized pieces first. You can cook the bone altogether, but because the bone is heavy, you probably need 2 pounds of bone-in shank to get an equal substitute.
- The second replacement option is beef ribs. Again, you have to cut into bite-sized pieces first. If with the bones, use 2 pounds.
- The third replacement is saved up silver skin trims. I know it doesn't sound good, but this is what I will recommend the most because in Chinese cooking, "brisket" (牛腩) is not a defined cut; it is a general term that refers to beef pieces containing meat, silver skin, and maybe some fat. Whenever you cook beef, save the silver skin trims and freeze them until you have enough to make this recipe. Of course, if you have a good relationship with a butcher, they may just give it to you for free. Isn't that the fun of cooking? One person's scrap is another's treasure. We're gonna turn it into an authentic, delicious Chinese dish.
Bái Zhǐ (白芷, Angelica dahurica) is the dried root of a plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). It has a special complex aroma -kind of like a combination of earth, musk, celery, pepper, and citrus. The fragrance is so strong that a small slice goes a long way. Chinese people like to use it to make all kinds of braised beef and lamb. You can click here to purchase it.
