Taiwanese Braised Beef Rice 台灣牛肉饭

We have braised food quite often because my whole enjoys it.  Sometime I wonder whether this is Teochew's culture of mixing gravy into the rice.  For me, I prefer to eat my rice with little sauces and not drenched with it.  

Decided to give it a change and try out  Taiwanese Braised Beef Rice 台灣牛肉饭 instead.  

Findings: The gravy is really good and it has a mild hint of spiciness in it.  Glad everyone likes it.

What you need:

1kg beef shank

1 large onion

4" ginger

3 tbsp chili bean paste

1 tsp cummin
1 tsp fennel
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn (crushed)

1 tsp white pepper

3 tbsp vegetable oil

200 ml rice wine

200 ml soy sauce

2 stalks of green onions

Method:

Chop the onion and ginger into thin slices. 

Cut the green onion stalks in half and set aside a small portion for the garnish at the end

Next, take the beef shank and cut evenly into big cubes. 

Blanch beef with boiling water.

Heat a pot on high heat with oil.  Sear beef until brown. Remove and set aside.

Add the ginger and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the chopped onions and cook until they are translucent and begin to caramelize (~3-4 minutes). 

Add in the spices and mix well into the beef

Then, deglaze by pouring the rice wine into the wok. Let the wine cook for about 3-4 minutes to evaporate the alcohol

Add in the chili bean paste. Cook the paste for about 30 seconds before mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients

Add the soy sauce and mix well

Then, add the green onions 

Pour the hot water into the mixture until it covers all of the ingredients. 

Bring the beef broth to a boil again. Cover the wok and turn the heat down to low. Let the beef broth simmer and cook for 2 hours

Serve with rice and blanched vegetable


I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest #10 Aug 2014 : Taiwan hosted by travelling-foodies.

To all the PSLE kids, good luck for tomorrow's exam!

Cheers!