Red-Cooked Beef

Red-cooked beef is one of those dishes that is just made for the winter. This Chinese beef stew — made by simmering well-marbled beef in a combination of soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, tangerine peel, and chilies — is as aromatic and delicious as it sounds.

Plus, the bubbling action and warmth in the kitchen while you make this dish is a huge plus when it’s 19 degrees F out and your radiator isn’t working as well as it should.

Some of you may have tried making red-cooked pork before from this site. My method for red-cooked beef is similar, with some key differences. One big difference is the addition of dried tangerine peel. You can choose to include it or not, but I find that orange flavors pair so well with beef, and adds such a wonderful citrus fragrance to the stew, that I can’t pass it up.

You can buy tangerine peel in any Chinese market, but it’s also easy to make your own at home. Just peel a tangerine (reserving the insides for a snack!), rip the peel into large pieces, and keep the pieces on a windowsill or another cool, dry spot for 2 to 3 days. Or, to dry the peels on short notice, bake the peels in a 200 degree F oven for about 60 to 70 minutes, until they dry up and look like the peels in the photo above.

Another important difference is the meat and how to cook it. We’re not using pork belly, but beef that still contains a good amount of fat is key. I buy about 2 pounds beef short ribs, slice the meat off the bone and cut them into cubes, and save the bones in the freezer for when I get around to making beef stock. You can also use beef chuck or stew meat as a substitute, but the meat tends to be leaner, so the texture will just end up a bit drier after cooking.

Many recipes call for boiling the beef before braising so the stew doesn’t end up with scum on top, but I use another method that achieves the same purpose. It’s probably a product of my French culinary training, but I like to toss the beef cubes in flour and sear them in the pan all around, much like the method for preparing beef bourguignon. You end up with a golden-brown exterior on the beef that stays there even after an hour or more of slow, gentle braising.

Rice is a must for soaking up all the sauce. I also love serving this with a vegetable side like stir-fried bok choy. (You can also do a side of broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, or another dark winter green.) Like other braised dishes, it gets better after sitting overnight, after the flavors have a chance to coalesce more. So don’t be a afraid to make this ahead of time too, whether for a dinner party or a weeknight meal.

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Red-Cooked Beef

Serves 4

2 pounds beef short ribs, or substitute 1 pound beef chuck or stew meat1/2 cup all-purpose flour2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil1 large yellow onion, diced2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry2 cups water3 tablespoons soy sauce2 tablespoons sugarOne 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into 3 pieces2 cloves garlic, minced1 cinnamon stick2 pieces star anise2 pieces dried tangerine peel3 whole dried red chilies1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (optional)2 large red carrots, peeled and chopped into small bite-sized piecesSalt and pepper to tasteHeat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot, Dutch oven, or pan with deep sides over medium-high heat. Using tongs, toss the beef lightly in the flour in a shallow dish.Sear the beef until lightly brown all around, about 2 minutes. Transfer the beef to a plate and set aside.Lower the heat to medium. In the same pot or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Sauté the onions for about 2 to 3 minutes, until aromatic and softened. Return the beef to the pot. Add the rice wine to lift any beef drippings from the bottom of the pan. Add the water, sugar, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, tangerine peel, chilies, and optional Sichuan pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add the carrots to the pot and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a large serving dish and serve warm with rice.

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More Asian beef recipes to try:

Tagged as: Beef, Chinese, Hunan, Recipes, Sichuan

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Red-cooked Pork Belly (红烧肉)

Red-braised Pork Belly pictures (1 of 7)

Shanti is a good friend of mine, we met each other through her husband Peikwen Cheng—my ex-colleague and the most talented photographer I know. Based in Beijing, Shanti travels all over China meeting with local families to learn about authentic home-style Chinese cooking. Her many journeys are documented on ShowShanti. If you’re a fan of local culture and story-telling, you have to check out ShowShanti. She is also the proud designer of her gorgeous and colorful Chinese aprons, which you can enter to win. Don’t miss this scrumptious red-cooked pork belly recipe, which she learned from real Chinese home cooks in China, and remember to start following her adventures on ShowShanti.com.

When I first came to China, I didn’t know about Chinese food any more than what I had eaten at countless Chinese restaurants in California. Typical dishes my family and I would order included egg flower soup ???, barbecued-pork steamed buns ???, spareribs in black bean sauce, barbecued pork, roast pork, Cantonese roast duck, glutinous rice stuffed with pork and steamed in lotus leaves ???, Ma Po tofu, and pork fried rice. Those dishes were a great beginning for my American Chinese food repertoire. Upon living in China, I encountered many more dishes; too many to list and yet so many more to try.

The dish that quickly made an impression on me was hóngshao ròu (???, red-cooked pork belly)—cubed cuts of pork belly braised in soy sauce and fragrant spices with fat that tenders the lean and falls apart in the mouth. The savory-sweet combination seduces the taste buds, rendering me addicted to this dish for life. As I write this, I wonder, “Is it time for me to stew another pot of this simple dish that waited nearly three decades to find my appetite?”

I learned a version from one Shanghai family (Chen Chen’s hóngshao ròu recipe) that had neither chili nor spice; I felt something was missing. I’d learned hóngshao yu (red-cooked fish), hóngshao shanyu (red-cooked eel), hóngshao tuji (red-cooked organic chicken), and hóngshao zhuti (red-cooked pig’s feet); all of which included fragrant spices like star anise, chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, cassia bark, and black cardamom. I prefer hóngshao ròu with chilies, Sichuan peppercorn, star anise, and cassia bark. Hóngshao ròu is a simple dish and deserves every spice and minute you can give to its perfection.

After making different variations of hóngshao ròu, I have decided upon a medley of flavors that makes my own family claim this recipe a favorite. As with all home-style recipes, you learn someone’s original recipe then you make it your own. Stick to my recipe a few times then stray with the muse of your own taste buds. Serve hóngshao ròu with rice and Chinese broccoli. Enjoy!

(Click on Page 2 for the Red-cooked Pork Belly Recipe)

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