Beef stew is one of those meals you enjoy sat on the sofa with your feet up while you enjoy your meaty meal. With a glass of wine perhaps watching a movie or TV show that has you gripped – am I right? Well that’s what happens in my home. So if you’re in the mood for a meaty meal with complex flavors try my Asian beef stew.
This Asian beef stew is a little spicy, a little smokey, and a touch sweet, and what you need on a chilly day, and no doubt what you would prefer if your day has been anything like mine – gloomy with no promise of sun. It’s the epitome of comfort food. I ate my first serving on a bed on herb rice (recipe to come), and for my second serving I created a super spicy taco, by adding some more chillies and Asian cabbage. Yes, I had two servings, and I will not be judged! I’m fit for nothing now though, maybe I’ll have a nap.
Stewing beef is usually a marbled cut of beef and once cooked it releases the fat into the sauce. For a leaner more healthy meal, I suggest you separate the fat from the sauce and get rid of it, be kind to your heart.
You will see that I added sake to this stew, I used a slightly sweet sake with pear notes. You can’t taste the sake in the stew once cooked, but it does help to deepen the flavors considerably, so it would be a shame not to include it. But if you would rather not use sake, as an alternative you can use wine, or skip the alcohol completely.
This is a cracker of a dish, the oven does most of the work, and any leftovers can be converted into so many things – tacos, empanadas, burritos, risotto. Give it a try soon and let me know what you think.
Asian Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves garlic shredded
- 1 tsp freshly shredded ginger
- 1 cup fresh cilantro minced
- 1 tsp five spice
- 2 1/ 2 lb stewing beef cut into 2" chunks
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups sake
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 bay leaves
Final Seasoning
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2-3 thai chilli peppers
Equipment and Utensils
- Casserole pan
- Fat separator
- Saucepan
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil on medium heat in casserole pan.
- Sauté garlic, ginger, cilantro and five spice until flavors release.
- Add stew beef and cornstarch and combine until beef is coated with ingredients.
- Add sake, soy sauce and honey and stir until ingredients are combined.
- Drop in bay leaves, remove from stove, cover and place in pre-heated oven at 325 for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
Final seasoning
- Once beef chunks are cooked and almost falling apart, tip out sauce from stew into a fat separator and discard fat.
- Pour sauce into a saucepan, place on medium heat and add honey and chili peppers.
- Allow sauce to reduce by a quarter and then pour over stewed beef.
- Taste and add seasoning if necessary
