Crafts and Life

Ingredients
3-4 tbs olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
good thumb sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and shredded
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
1 red chili, de-seeded and thinly sliced
1.5kg/3 lb 5 oz braising beef cut into large pieces
2 tbs plain flour, well seasoned
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
2 star anise (optional)
2 tsp light muscovado sugar (or use what ever you have got)
2 tbs Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
3 tbs dark soy sauce, plus more to serve
500ml/18 fl oz beef stock
steamed bok choi and steamed Basmati rice to serve
Method
Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a large shallow casserole. Fry the garlic, ginger, onions and chili for 3 minutes until soft and fragrant. Tip onto a plate. Toss the beef in the flour, add 1 tbs more oil to the pan, then brown the meat in batches, adding the final tbs oil if you need to. It should take about 5 minutes to brown each batch properly.
Add the 5-spice and star anise to the pan, tip in the gingery mix, then fry for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant. Add the sugar and then the beef and stir until combined. Keep the heat high, then splash in the wine or sherry, scraping up any meaty bits. Heat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/300F/gas 2.
Pour in the soy and stock (it won't cover the meat completely), bring to a simmer, then tightly cover, transfer to the oven and cook for 1.5-2 hours, stirring the meat halfway through. The meat should be soft and any sinewy bits should have melted away. Season with more soy. This can now be chilled and frozen for up to 1 month.
Nestle the cooked bok choi into the pan, then bring to the table with the Basmati rice straight away and tuck in.
Serves 6
Per serving : 513 kcals, protein 54g, carbs 9g,fat 29g, sat fat 10g, fibre 1g, sugar 4g, salt 2.39g
From BBC Good Food magazine March 2009

Labels: Beef, one-pot, Oriental