Chinese Marinated Beef | 卤牛肉
Chef Kun makes the best Chinese marinated beef. Every time he brings this dish to his workplace for share, it will be finished within a minute. I do feel the urge to let more people appreciate the magic of Chinese marinated dishes. So here we are, today I have the honor to share his secret of how to make Chinese braised beef as good as any restaurant you can find.
Actually it took me a long time to find the proper English name for this dish. It's like braised beef, but normally it is served cold and without gravy. It is sometimes called spiced beef because it is so richly flavored. Marinated beef can best emphasize the special flavor gained by marinating the beef in spiced gravy for a long time. Also, you can put in so many different stuffs along side beef. Beef shank, beef tendon, pork tongue, eggs, chicken feet, to name just a few, all goes perfect. In the picture above, it's actually a mixture of beef and pork tongue slices.
Ingredients
The marinating mix is most often bought in supermarkets, sometimes ground to packs of powder. But you can also collect the above spices your self and make your own mixture.
STEPS
1.
Put beef shank and pork tongue in a pot and add enough cold water to cover the meat. Heat until boil, then keep boiling for 1-2 min. Transfer the meat to a strainer, wash off the foam in warm water and drain. This step removes the strong odor given by blood.
2.
Boil about 1L water in a kettle. Chop ginger in large chunks.
3.
Add boiled water in a pot. Add in marinating mix as described in ingredients section, scallion and gingers. Add sugar, salt and soy sauce to taste. Bring water to boil.
4.
Add beef shank and pork tongue to the pot, cover the lib. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. (Cook for half an hour if you use pressure cooker.)
5.
Add in chicken, stir fry until completely mixed with chili. Add sugar and salt to taste.
6.
Turn off the heat, transfer beef shank and pork tongue to a bowl, let them sit and cool. Reduce the gravy over high heat. Pour some gravy onto the meat. Store the meat in fridge.
7.
When the meat is fully cooled in fridge, cut them in pieces and serve.
8.
When the meat is fully cooled in fridge, cut them in pieces and serve.
TIPS
Remember, the gravy must be stronger flavored than you would normally take, so that the meat can gain the proper level of saltiness. You can add spice and Sichuan pepper if you love hot spice.
When you can stick in the meat with a fork or chopstick without difficulty, the meat is ready. Do not excessively stew the meat or they will get too loose.
You can add some cooked egg when stewing meat. Remember to crack the egg shell to let it better marinate.