China · Cantonese
Chu Hou Braised Beef Brisket
Beef brisket braised in chu hou paste with wine and warm spices until the sauce coats it in a glossy red-brown glaze.
Chu hou paste is the ingredient that defines this dish, and it reached Cantonese cooking through the port and the trade with the south. The beef is seared with the paste, the wine and the spices before any water goes in, and that step builds the coating which makes it look lacquered. A second pot of radish or potato cooked in the leftover broth is a common addition.
Ingredients
- beef brisketExact
- ginger30 g
- bird's eye chili1 pieces
- bay leaf2 pieces
- Sichuan peppercorn0.5 g
- star anise2 pieces
- dried chili3 pieces
- cloves3 pieces
- licorice root2 pieces
- fermented red bean curd2 pieces
- Pixian bean paste15 g
- rock sugar10 g
- Shaoxing wine10 g
- spirit20 g
- chu hou paste50 g
- oyster sauce20 g
- dark soy sauce5 g
- light soy sauce60 g
- char siu sauce20 g
Directions
- 1
First prepare the supporting ingredients:
- 2
Do not cut the beef; put it into cold water as it is, blanch over high heat, and lift it out once the water boils.
- 3
Rinse the impurities from the surface of the beef, then cut it into large four centimeter cubes, drain and set aside in a bowl.
- 4
Over high heat, heat the wok with oil and tip in bowl one, the ginger, garlic and bird's eye chili, and fry until fragrant.
- 5
Over medium-low heat, add bowl two, the spices, and stir-fry evenly for about thirty seconds.
- 6
Over medium-low heat, add bowl three, the fermented red bean curd, and crush it with the spatula.
- 7
Over medium-low heat, add bowl four, the bean paste, and stir-fry evenly for about thirty seconds.
- 8
Over medium-low heat, add bowl five, the rock sugar, and let it melt.
- 9
Over medium-low heat, add the beef and stir-fry until it colors.
- 10
Over high heat, pour bowl six, the wine, down the side of the wok and stir-fry quickly until the surface of the beef is lightly browned.
- 11
Pour in bowl seven, the sauces, stir-fry quickly, watching the liquid underneath, until small bubbles rise constantly and the sauce thickens slightly.
- 12
Transfer everything in the wok to another braising pot or pressure cooker and add water to cover the ingredients.
- 13
Choose the braising time according to the pot you are using:
- 14
When the time is up, open the lid and season. If it is not salty enough, add salt or light soy sauce a little at a time, tasting as you go; if it is not sweet enough, do the same with sugar.
- 15
Once the seasoning is right, lift the beef out.
- 16
If you want radish or potato, peel and cut them into two-centimeter slices, add them to the pot and cook for ten to fifteen minutes, or until they are the texture you like. In a pressure cooker, cook them for five minutes once it comes up to pressure.
- 17
When they are done, lift them out and put them alongside the beef.
- 18
Strain the sauce and pour it over everything in the bowl.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.