Perfect Winter Recipe - Melt in Your Mouth Tender Braised Beef with Potatoes
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Souped Up Recipes
This is a perfect recipe for beginners. You just put all the ingredients together and let time do its job. It yields melt-in-your-mouth tender beef with a luscious, flavorful sauce that will make you devour heaps of rice unconsciously. Its flavor profile is gentle but rich with a subtle sweetness. The bean curd lends a delightful fermented aftertaste, elevating the dish to a different level.
Ingredients
- 680g / 1.5 pounds beef stew meat (chuck, brisket, shank, or sirloin tip)
- 18g / about 6 cloves garlic
- 18g / about 6 slices ginger
- 60g / about 4 scallions, cut into stalks
- 20g / 1.5 Tbsps cooking oil
- 25g / 1.5 Tbsps soy sauce
- 18g / 1 Tbsp Zhuhou paste
- 18g / 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 8.3g / 1.5 tsps dark soy sauce
- 25g / 1.5 Tbsps tomato paste
- 20g / about 2 pieces red fermented bean curd
- 25g / 2 Tbsps sugar
- 960g / 4 cups water
- 400-600g / about 2-3 potatoes
- 120g / about ½ red bell pepper, cut into small triangles
Directions
Cut the beef into 1-inch cubes and add it to a big stock pot. Fill the pot with water and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the beef from the pot and set it aside to drain.
- Let the blanching water go through a fine cheesecloth to eliminate the scum. Reserve it on the side.
- Thoroughly combine the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, Zhuhouzhuhou paste, tomato paste, sugar, and fermented bean curd in a bowl and set it aside.
- Preheat the clay pot until nice and hot. Add the cooking oil, blanched beef, garlic cloves, ginger slices, and scallion stalks and stir over medium heat until fragrant. If you don't have a clay pot, use a heavy-duty Dutch oven, a pressure cooker, or a slow cooker.
- Pour in the seasoning sauce and mix for 2 minutes to allow the heat to activate all the flavors.
- Pour in 4 cups of the reserved beef blanching water, which should be just enough to immerse all the ingredients. Bring it to a boil, switch the heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. During this time, come back to check the liquid level once in a while; add hot water if the water evaporates too fast.
- About 40 minutes before the beef is done, peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-size chunks.
- Remove the soggy scallions and the ginger slices from the clay pot. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer for 30 minutes or until tender.
- Check the consistency of the braising liquid. It should be slightly thick. If yours is too thin, increase the heat to high and reduce the sauce until slightly thickened.
- Before serving, add the red bell pepper and stir well. Taste the broth to adjust the flavor. Serve with white rice.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
Zhuhou paste (柱候酱), a signature Cantonese ingredient, is primarily used in Cantonese-style braised meat recipes. If youdon’t have it, you can use the same amount of hoisin sauce as a replacement.
Fermented bean curd (腐乳) adds a complex and distinguished flavor to this dish. There are many kinds of fermented bean curd in Asian markets. Make sure you choose the Cantonese red fermented bean curd.If youdon't have access to it, use 1 Tbsp Japanese miso paste as a replacement.
If you don’t care for potatoes, you can use carrots or daikon radish instead.
