Chinese Style Braised Beef One Pot Food

CHINESE-STYLE BRAISED BEEF ONE-POT

Steps:

• Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, shallow casserole.
• Fry the garlic, ginger, scallions and chili for 3 mins until soft and fragrant. Tip onto a plate. Toss the beef in the flour, add 1 tbsp more oil to the pan, then brown the meat in batches, adding more oil if you need to. It should take about 5 mins to brown each batch properly.
• Add the five-spice and star anise (if using) to the pan, tip in the gingery mix, then fry for 1 min until the spices are fragrant.
• Add the sugar, then the beef and stir until combined. Keep the heat high, then splash in the wine or sherry, scraping up any meaty bits. Heat oven to 300°F
• Pour in the soy and broth (it won't cover the meat completely), bring to a simmer, then tightly cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 1½-2 hrs, stirring the meat halfway through.
• The meat should be very soft, and any sinewy bits should have melted away. Season with more soy.
• This can now be chilled and frozen for up to 1 month.
• Serve with steamed bok choy and white rice.

ASIAN BRAISED BEEF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• Mix together the flour, five-spice powder and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss the beef in the flour mixture and set aside.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, sear the meat on all sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Remove the meat to a plate and set aside.
• To the pot, add the ginger, chili paste, garlic and scallion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the sherry, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the broth, soy sauce, honey, star anise and bay leaves and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the seared beef, cover the pot, transfer to the oven and cook until the meat is falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Serve over rice, garnished with the reserved scallion greens.

CHINESE BRAISED BEEF AND POTATO STEW

Steps:

• In a sauce pan that has a lid (you'll use it later), bring water to a boil, add meat, bring back to a boil, then turn off and let stand while you prepare the vegetables.
• Prepare ginger, garlic, and leek or onion.
• Discard water off the beef, and add enough boiling water to almost cover the meat, along with anise, ginger, and leek or onion.
• Heat an empty wok over high heat, add lard or oil, heat and swirl in pan, then add garlic and stir quickly for a moment until the fragrance rises from the oil. Then add soy sauce and bring to a boil.
• Add soy sauce mixture to the saucepan with the beef, cover the dish, and braise for an hour or more, stirring occasionally, and discarding water that has condensed under the lid.
• While the meat and vegetables cook, peel and cut up the carrots and potatoes.
• Twenty to forty minutes before serving, add the carrots and potatoes and salt and pepper. (At this point, you may wish to enhance the flavor with a pinch of five-spice powder or ground cloves.).
• When the potatoes are cooked through and the sauce is just starting to thicken naturally from the potato starch, the dish is prepared.
• In north China, this stew is served with thick, chewy, crusty flat bread. In the south, with rice. Garlic-stir-fried spinach or other greens makes an excellent accompaniment.
• This amount serves 2 people, but may serve up to eight or ten alongside an appropriate number of other dishes as part of a family-style Chinese meal.