Filed under Beef
The first time I made this in the Dr.’s kitchen, he said after tasting it: Oooh, like bœf bourguignon. While that comment was fine and good, I didn’t spend the effort to cook a French dish; I wanted to make a Thai beef stew. This recipe has been rehashed from that first time and I adjusted the coconut milk (more) and cut down the mirepoix (less). I used more of the Thai spices I bought from Kalustyan’s and was more generous with the galangal and the curry leaves.
Ingredients:
1 pound of beef chuck, cubed
1 can of coconut milk
two handfuls of green string beans
4 ribs of celery, chopped
a handful of baby carrots
a handful of dried curry leaves
a handful of Thai basil
a small knob of dried galangal
a small knob of ginger, peeled, minced
1 tbsp powdered lemongrass
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 cup of beef broth
oil, salt
1. In a large Dutch oven, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Brown beef cubes on both sides and remove to a plate.
2. Using the leftover oil and rendered fat, sauté onions until soft. Add Thai basil, curry leaves, lemongrass, galangal and ginger and keep sautéing until everything is incorporated. Season with some salt.
3. Return the beef to the pot including its juices. Add coconut milk and simmer for 45 minutes, covered. Stir halfway through just to make sure nothing has stuck to the bottom of the pot.
4. After 45 minutes, add 1 cup of beef broth and 3/4 cup of water. Add the green beans, carrots and celery. Cover again and let simmer for another hour or until beef is soft. Stir every now and then and add a small splash of water to make sure it doesn’t dry up. Serve with rice and tell your guests to mind the spice leaves and big chunks of galangal and ginger.
Related post/s:
Beef bourguignon recipe from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food
No one appreciated my Tunisian beef stew but me
Filed under Beef, Soups, Stocks + Sauces
I hurried home on Sunday afternoon because I was in the mood to spend the rest of my weekend cooking. The Dr. bought fresh perilla leaves from Koreatown before we left for Montauk in preparation for all the sashimi that we were going to eat after a planned fishing trip for striped bass. We didn’t catch any fish that weekend (neither did anyone on the entire boat), so he saved the leaves to use it for something else. His kalbi tang, or Korean beef rib soup, last Tuesday was so comforting that I badly wanted to recreate it at home.
It reminded me of the Filipino bulalo, or bone marrow soup, only less fatty. Browning the short ribs made the stock beefier and toastier. The perilla leaves added an interesting kick to it–I don’t know how else to describe the taste but medicinal. And really, after a pot of this soup with some warm white rice and kimchi, you’d feel a hundred per cent better already.
Ingredients:
6 pieces of beef short ribs
1 napa cabbage, chopped
10 pieces perilla leaves
2 tbsps soy bean paste
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
oil
1. In a large Dutch oven, add some oil and brown all sides of the beef ribs. Remove from the pot and set aside.
2. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the used oil. Try to get the darkest bits out from the oil. In the remaining oil, sauté the garlic until light brown and the onions until soft. Add the soy bean paste and stir.
3. Return the browned beef ribs in the pot and add 5 to 6 cups of water. Cover and simmer for about 2 to 3 hours. Check after 20 minutes to remove the impurities that float to the top. It’s okay if you discard some of the onions.
4. When the meat is almost falling off the bone, add cabbage and perilla leaves. Cook for another 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender. Season with some more soy bean paste if it needs extra salt.
Related post/s:
I get my Korean ingredients at Han Ah Reum in midtown
I made a cleaner Korean soup with dumplings before
