Chinese Beef Stew from the BBC

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Ingredients

3-4 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
good thumb-size piece fresh root ginger, peeled and shredded
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
1½ kg braising beef, cut into large pieces (we used ox cheek)
2 tbsp plain flour, well seasoned
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 star anise (optional)
2 tsp light muscovado sugar (or use whatever you've got)
3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
3 tbsp dark soy sauce, plus more to serve
500ml beef stock (we used Knorr Touch of Taste)
steamed bok choy and steamed basmati rice, to serve

Braising beef

When stewing, look for meat marbled with good streaks of fat and sinew throughout – these will break down during slow cooking and give you the most tender meat. If you can get it, ox cheek is fantastic value and rich in flavour – perfect for this dish.


Method

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large, shallow casserole. Fry the garlic, ginger, onions and chilli 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 the final tbsp 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 150C/fan 130C/gas 2.
Pour in the soy and stock (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.
Nestle the cooked bok choy into the pan, then bring to the table with the basmati rice straight away and tuck in.



Recipe from Good Food magazine, March 2009