Chinese Braised Beef Shank & Master Stock (酱牛肉)
A detailed recipe on making braised beef shank the Chinese way. The meat makes a delicious appetiser & the broth becomes a reusable master stock.
Servings: 4 platefuls
Ingredients
For marinating the beef
- 1500 g boneless beef shank (beef shin) 53oz
- 4 tablespoon soybean paste see note 1 for substitutes
- 1 big piece fermented bean curd (Fu Ru/腐乳) or 4 small pieces, see note 2
- 4 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
For seasoning the stock
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 5 slices ginger
- 2 stalks scallions, cut in sections
- 12 g rock sugar or 1 tbsp regular sugar
- 4 star anise
- 1 piece cassia cinnamon
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan pepper
- 1 tablespoon whole white pepper or black pepper
- 8 cloves
- 1 Tsao-ko (Chinese black cardamon, 草果) optional
- 2 pieces dried sand ginger (沙姜) optional
- 4 dried chillies
- Salt, to taste
For serving (optional)
- Chinese chilli oil
- Scallions, finely chopped
Instructions
Soak the beef (optional)
- Wash beef shank then cut each piece lenghthways once.
- Put into a large bowl. Pour in water (enough to cover the meat completely). Leave to soak for 1 hour then drain (this is to extract excess blood).
Marinate the beef
- Add soybean paste, fermented bean curd, light soy sauce & dark soy sauce to a bowl. Mash the bean curd with a spoon and mix well.
- Pour the marinade onto the drained beef. Rub to coat evenly. Leave to rest for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Cook the beef
- Put the beef, along with the marinade sauce, into a pot. Top with about 750 ml/3 cups of water (It should be enough to cover the meat completely. Please feel free to adjust).
- Add Shaoxing rice wine, scallions, ginger, sugar and all the spices.
- Bring it to a full boil then turn the heat to the lowest. Cover with a lid and leave to simmer for about 1½ hours (see note 3).
- Halfway through, taste the stock to check the saltiness. If it’s on the salty side, the beef should be just right. Otherwise, add a little salt.
- To check the doneness, poke the centre of the biggest piece of the beef with a chopstick. You should be able to insert it through with a little resistant.
- Let the beef cool down in the stock naturally. Then transfer the beef to a container. Refrigerate until completely firm.
- Use a sieve to drain the stock (discard the spices) and keep in the fridge for later use.
Serve the beef (see note 4 for more options)
- Cut the beef into thin slices then lay on a plate. Heat up a little stock in a saucepan. Pour it over the beef. Add chilli oil and scallions. If you wish to serve it warm, steam the sliced beef for about 3 mins or so.
- This recipe makes about 4 platefuls. Store the rest of the beef chunks in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before using.
How to reuse the stock
- The beef stock can be reused as a master stock for braising meat, boiled eggs, tofu, kelp, etc. Add more water, seasonings & spices if necessary.
- After each use, drain the stock very well and remove all the solid pieces left in the liquid. Store in the fridge or freezer for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before using.
Video
Notes
1. Chinese soybean paste (Huang Dou Jiang/黄豆酱) is a brownish-black paste made of fermented soybeans. If unavailable, you may replace it with sweet flour sauce (Tian Mian Jiang/甜面酱) which is made of fermented wheat flour. Hoisin sauce can also be used as a substitute.
2. Fermented bean curd is known as Fu Ru/腐乳 in Chinese. You can use either the red version or the white version (read more in the post above). Unfortunately, there aren’t any other ingredients which taste similar. So you will have to skip it if unavailable. In this case, I suggest you add more salt to the stock in the next step.
3. The cooking time required may vary depending on the size of the beef, the power of the heat and the cookware you use. Adjust if necessary.
4. Other serving options:
- As a topping in noodle dishes. For example, replace chicken in Sichuan style noodle salad. Or use it along with the stock (dilute with water if necessary) to make a noodle soup.
- As an alternative filling for these dishes: Rou Jia Mo (Chinese pork burger), Gua Bao (Taiwanese pork buns), Chinese spring pancakes.
