Braised Beef Shanks 滷牛腱 - Approved by Papa and His Friends

Due to the current kitchen restriction, I've only have one stovetop to use and that's why I rarely cook braised dishes nowadays. If the only stovetop is occupied braising something, that means I'm left with limited options to prepare other food at the same time.

But don't ever underestimate a housewife. This time I managed to braise the beef shanks for hours while making the main carb dish with rice cooker. If preferred, I can also have something working with the steamer, no stovetop needed.

So beside the pre-boiling preparation, the actual braising time for the beef shanks took 2 hours. However, if you'd like to try out this recipe, make sure to have spare time for the beef shanks to cool-off. I sped up the cooling time by storing the beef shanks in the freezer. The beef shanks can only be sliced nicely once hardened. And this dish is supposed to eat in room temperature, with optional chopped scallion, braised juice, and chili sauce on top.

Braise beef shanks 滷牛腱 -

Ingredients (for 3 shanks)?

• 3 or about 1350 grams beef shanks
• 4 stalks scallion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 medium small onion
• 3 slices ginger
• 2 dried red chilies
• 2 star anises
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons spicy fermented bean paste (ideally from Sichuan Pixian 郫縣)
• 1 teaspoon crystal sugar
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup aged Shaoxing wine
• 3 cups water
• 2 to 3 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• Some chili oil (optional)

How?

Have a big pot of water ready but fill up till about half way through. Add in the beef shanks and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat a bit but still keep the water bubbling. Continue to cook for couple more minutes till more foamy bits floating on top. Heat-off, drain and set the beef shanks aside.

Peel the garlic cloves. Scrape and slice the ginger, about 1mm thickness. Peel and slice the onion to big chunks. Destem and section the scallion, but do save about 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens.

Have a big pot ready for braising. Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil and switch to medium heat. Add in onion, garlic, ginger, and scallion section. Stir-fry till slightly browned on some of the aromatics.

Add in spicy fermented bean paste, I used a specialty version from Sichuan Pixian, it's good stuff, highly recommend to buy it if you find one in Asian market. Stir and cook till that bean paste aroma starts to come out but not burnt.

Add in the beef shanks. Also add 1 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of aged Shaoxing wine, 3 cups of water, 2 bay leaves, 2 star anises, 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorn, 1/2 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn, 2 dried red chiles, and 1 teaspoon of crystal sugar.

Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep the pot as a medium bubbling stage. Cover with lid and let the meat braise, but do remember to check once a while and flip the beef around.

Braise for at least 90 minutes, mine took 120 minutes, aiming for a softer bite.

When the beef is ready, remove from the juice and let the meat rest and cool-off. You might have to speed up the process by storing the shanks in the fridge or freezer. I actually store the meat in the freezer and waited for like close to two hours.

Once hardened, slice the beef shank to 1mm to 2mm thickness. Plate and drizzle some braised juice over, not too much because it can get too salty. Sprinkle over some chopped scallion we saved earlier. You can also drizzle some chili oil if desired.

I know my dad loves braised beef shanks so I save most of the pretty sliced ones for him. Nicely laid the beef shank slices in a container, drizzled a bit braised juice, also packed up some extra juice and chopped scallion for him. 

The extra braised juice can either drizzle on top of the beef shanks, or use as noodle sauce, no extra seasonings needed, very convenient. 

So my dad shared the beef shanks with his friends and received many good feedbacks. Well, I'm happy that they love the braised beef shanks. But what makes me even happier is that my dad got something to show-off, in a nice way. Not only his daughter brought him something he likes to eat, homemade too, but also a bragging right that his daughter can cook.

Other Asian braise recipes:

• Braised potato chunks in Asian sauce 紅燒馬鈴薯
• Braised Chinese cabbage with Jinhua ham 金華火腿煨白菜
• Shaoxing braised pork belly 紹興豬肉

Steamed Boneless Chicken Leg with Scallion and Ginger Sauce 蒸去骨雞腿佐蔥薑蓉醬

Think of it as hassle-free Asian recipe. I actually kind of stir-fry the scallion and ginger for the sauce, but if you'd like to make it even simpler, just heat up the oil and pour over the chopped aromatics. If doing so, the kitchen basically stays clean and you'll have a flavorful dish to eat along with, I would say steamed rice is the best way to go.

Steamed boneless chicken leg with scallion and ginger sauce 蒸去骨雞腿佐蔥薑蓉醬 - 

Ingredients?

• 1 boneless skin-on chicken leg
• 2 stalks scallion
• 1 chunk young ginger
• 3 tablespoons preferred cooking oil
• Some salt
• Some chili sauce (optional)

How?

The boneless chicken leg I used is about 190 grams. Also for the scallion, we'll need about 3/4 cup once chopped. Ginger-wise about 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon scraped and chopped.

I do suggest to thoroughly feel the boneless chicken making sure there're no tiny bone fragments remain. Once checked, steam till fully cooked. Pour out excess liquid after steaming. I actually save the chicken juice to flavor other dishes later on. Transfer the chicken to serving plate.

Use a medium pot and drizzle 3 tablespoons of preferred cooking oil. I used olive oil for most of my cooking. Turn to medium heat and add in chopped scallion and ginger. Stir-fry till aromatic but not burnt. Lower the heat a little if needed. Season with some salt and do a taste-check, adjust the amount of salt used depending on your liking.

Pour that scallion and ginger sauce all over steamed chicken. Serve with optional chili sauce drizzle on top.

You can definitely sear the chicken instead, but our goal is keep the kitchen as clean as possible after cooking, and searing inevitably will result in some oil splashing here and there.

However, if decided to go with the searing route, drizzle some oil to a pan and sear the chicken skin side down first till golden then flip and sear the other side. Once the chicken is done and removed from the pan, use the remaining oil to stir-fry the scallion and ginger.

The result for searing the chicken gives you a more flavorful dish in the end, but that comes with more cleaning work afterwards too. Give and take, your call.

Other steamed recipes:

• Vietnamese steamed egg meatloaf
• Steamed tofu and egg with ground pork toppings 肉末豆腐蒸蛋
• Chinese steamed red grouper with ginger and scallion 油淋清蒸紅條魚