Recipe No 625 stew Adapted 2016

Sichuan spicy beef stew

We like to read the blog of Yi from Yi Reservation. This recipe for spicy sichuan beef stew is based on his (紅燒牛肉). We also used tips we have learned from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at Serious Eats in his recipe for Real Deal Kung Pao Chicken. We found Yi’s recipe a little tricky to follow so we adapted it to our format and tweaked it to accentuate flavour and refine the texture.

If you are not familiar with sichuan peppers and their delightful numbing effect, then this may be a good recipe to try. The level of pepper spice is relatively mild but there is certainly no point to leaving them out; there are other beef stews you could make which don’t have the spice.

Yi’s original recipe allowed for radish to be substituted for the potato. We like the way the potato soaks up the flavour of the liquid and releases starch which thickens the sauce. Little sticks of pickled radish are delicious, though, as they brighten the savoury flavour.

Adapted from Yi Reservation

Time

Prep:

Total:

Difficulty
easy
Yield
4 serves • 1600 g
Special equipment
sous vide
Metric Imperial

Processes

  • Beef, tough cut*; excess fat trimmed
    800 g
  • Water
    as needed
  1. 01
    Bring water to boil in a large pot.
  2. 02
    Blanch meat for then quickly rinse under cold water. Pat dry thoroughly.
  3. 03
    (Optional) Store in fridge, uncovered, for at least then transfer to freezer for .

  • Oil, peanut (3 tbsp)
    42 g
  1. 04
    Heat in a large pan over high heat until just smoking. Reduce heat to medium.
  2. 05
    Brown meat on two sides, each side.
  3. 06
    Remove meat from pan and set aside.
  4. 07
    Reduce heat to low.

  • Garlic, roughly chopped (5 cloves)
    15 g
  • Ginger, sliced 3 mm / ⅛" (4 slices)
    9 g
  1. 08
    Add to pan and sauté until aromatic, about .

  • Chinese cooking wine (¼ cup)
    60 g
  1. 09
    Add to pan and deglaze. Stir to combine.

  • Sichuan chilli bean paste☨ (2 tbsp)
    30 g
  • Soy sauce (2 tbsp)
    32 g
  • Sugar, raw (2 tsp, packed)
    9 g
  1. 10
    Add to pan and cook until sugar is dissolved and mixture is aromatic, about .

  • Beef stock (2 cups)
    500 g
  • Star anise (4 regular)
    5 g
  • Dried chili (6 small)
    3 g
  • Cinnamon (1 small)
    3 g
  • Fennel seeds (1 tsp, whole)
    2 g
  • Cloves (2 each)
    0.5 g
  • Dried orange peel (1 strip)
    2 g
  • Bay leaves (4 leaves)
    2.4 g
  • Cardamom (2 pods)
    1 g
  • Sichuan peppercorn, toasted in hot skillet for until fragrant (1 tsp, whole)
    3 g
  1. 11
    Add to pan and stir to combine thoroughly.
  2. 12
    Boil .
  3. 13
    Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to below 80°C / 176°F, about .
  4. 14
    Cut meat into 1" / 2.5 cm cubes. Add to pan and stir to combine.
  5. 15
    Vacuum seal and cook sous vide at 78°C / 172°F for .
  6. 16
    Strain bag juices into a sauce pan and bring to boil for .
  7. 17
    Strain again through a fine mesh, muslin or cheesecloth and return to pan.
  8. 18
    Meanwhile, separate meat and whole spices. Discard spices and reserve meat warm wrapped in foil.

  • Potato; peeled and cut into 20 mm / ¾" cubes (3 medium)
    400 g
  1. 19
    Add to pan and bring to boil.
  2. 20
    Cook over high heat until liquid has reduced and potato is tender, about .
  3. 21
    Reduce heat to low and allow mixture to cool, about .
  4. 22
    Add meat to pan to gently reheat. Stir carefully to combine.

  • Salt
    to taste
  1. 23
    Add to pan and stir carefully to combine.
  2. 24
    Divide stew among serving plates.

  • Scallions, finely sliced
    to taste
  • Coriander, leaves
    to taste
  • Radish, lightly pickled, cut into matchsticks
    to taste
  1. 25
    Garnish.

Notes

*: Any tough cut will do, such as chuck roll, chuck tender, brisket or shank. Keep the meat in large pieces until they have been browned.

☨: The chilli bean paste is called doubanjiang (辣豆瓣酱) and can be found in most Asian supermarkets as well as Amazon. It is an important part of this recipe’s flavour.

: We are not sure about the necessity of using whole spices instead of ground. The original recipe uses them whole. One adaptation might be to make a fine powder of all the spices; or, make a broth by combining the stock and spices and infusing them sous vide in the fridge for at 3°C / 37°F then straining the liquid before cooking the meat.

Making ahead

Blanch, dry and cool meat. Brown the meat. Prepare the spice mix.

Storing

Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days

Categorisation

Category
stew
Meal
dinner
Cuisine
chinese sichuan
Diet
omnivorous
Tags
beef stew red-cooked sichuan sichuan pepper spicy szechwan 紅燒牛肉