"BIG BATCH CHINESE BEEF

By RoketJSquerl

A tasty, make-ahead meal of slow-cooked saucy Chinese beef. Perfect when you're cooking for a crowd!

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4.5 lbs. braising beef, chopped into bitesize chunks
• 5 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice
• 1 litre (4 cups plus 3 tbsp) beef stock
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
• 200 g (approx 30) button mushrooms
• 1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• Sliced spring onions (scallions)

Details

Adapted from kitchensanctuary.com

Preparation

Step 1

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 160c/325f
Heat the 1 tbsp of the oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy-based pan. Dredge the chunks of beef in the flour, salt and pepper and fry one third of the beef for 5-6 minutes until golden brown all over. Remove from the pan and place in a bowl. Repeat twice more, until all the beef is seared.
Add the onions to the pan and cook on a low heat for a 5 minutes. If the onions are starting to catch (due to crispy bits left in the pan from the beef) add a tablespoon or two of water. Add in the garlic, ginger and five spice and stir though for 30 seconds.
Add the beef back to the pan, along with the beef stock, soy sauce, brown sugar and the mushrooms. Bring to the boil, stirring a few times to release any remaining crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Place a lid on the pan and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours – stirring a couple of times during cooking - until the meat begins to fall apart. You can add a little more water or beef stock if it starts to look too dry. Alternatively you could transfer to a slow cooker and cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours, or, you could cook on a low heat, on the hob, with the lid on for 2-3 hours.
Serve with boiled rice and top with chilli flakes if you like, and some thinly sliced spring onions. I like to serve this with some green veg too - such as stir-fried broccoli or bok choy.