Provencal Beef Stew

Attracted by the colour of its beautiful picture in the recently acquired recipe book, I decided to cook it since it also looked easy to make. It is my first attempt of a French dish. 

Well, its taste is unique and a bit of sourish, and the hint of the orange zest gives out another fruity taste. As I used shallots instead of onion (only found out that I ran out of onion during preparation), this might affect the final result. Looks like i have to give it another try.  

Recipe: Serves 4

Ingredients: 

3 tbsp olive oil

115 g thick-cut bacon, diced

900 g stewing stewing steak cut into 4 cm pieces

1 large onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 ripe tomatoes, peeled,seeded and chopped

2 tsp tomato puree (paste)

2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

250 ml/1 cup fruity red wine

150 ml beef stock ( I used 1 beef stock cube + 150 ml water)

1 bouquet garni (thyme/parsley/bay leaf etc) (I used 2 pieces dried bay leaves)

1 small onion, studded with 2 cloves

grated zest and juice of 1/2 unwaxed orange

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

salt and ground black pepper

Method:

1)   Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large heavy frying pan, then add the bacon stir-fry until browned and the fat is rendered.

2)  Working in batches, add the beef  to the pan in a single layer, pan-fry (do not over crowded the pan,  or the meat will stew in its own juices and not brown) until all sides are browned, about 6 - 8 minutes. Transfer the beef to the ceramic cooking pot and continue browning the rest of the meat in the same way, adding more oil when needed.

3)  Pour the wine and stock over the beef in the ceramic cooking pot, then add the bouquet garni and the onion.  

4)  Add the remaining oil and the onion to the frying pan and cook gently for 5 minutes, until softened.  Stir in the tomatoes, tomato puree and garlic, then transfer to the ceramic cooking pot.

5)  Cover with the lid and switch the slow cooker to low.  Cook for 5 -7 hours, or until the beef and vegetables are very tender.  Uncover and skim off any fat.  Season, discard the bouquet garni and clove-studded onion, and stir in the orange zest and juice and the parsley.

Simple Beef Stew

Recipe:

Ingredients:
600 g beef (shin)  cut into 2.5 cm pieces
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 big onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 big red tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2  carrots, cut into pieces (about 3 cm)
4 - 5  potatoes, cut each into 4 halves
5 celery sticks, cut into pieces
4 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
*400 ml water
*1 cube chicken stock
125 ml (1/2 cup) red wine
3 dried bay leaves
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

*note: may replace with beef stock

Method:
1)  Put the beef and flour in a plastic bag and shake to coat the beef with flour. Shake off any excess.
2)  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep heavy-based pan over medium heat.  Brown the meat well in batches, then remove the meat and set aside.
3) Add in the  remaining oil to the pan. Cook onions, garlic for few minutes, stirring frequently.  Return the meat and any juices to the pan with the tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, chicken stock cube,, bay leaves, and red wine. Stir well, then cover and simmer over very low heat for 1.1/2 hours until meat softens . Season with salt and sugar if needed and serve garnished with parsley.

NOTE: if you prefer your sauce to be a little thicker, cook uncovered over high heat till the sauce thickens.

Stir Fry Beef With Ginger And Spring Onions 姜葱炒牛肉

What's for dinner tonight? I opened my fridge, I 've got spring onions, beef and ginger. So I decided to cook this simple yet tantalizing dish for dinner.

Recipe

Ingredients:

300 g beef
50 g spring onion (cut into portions)
50 g ginger (sliced)

Gravy:
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon 'shao shin' wine
- 1/2 bowl water

Method:

1) Cut beef crosswise into thin slices. Marinate with
- quarter teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon light soya sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon corn flour
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- dash of pepper

2) Heat wok. Parfry beef then dish out. Leave 1 tablespoon of oil in wok. Stirfry ginger until fragrant. Add spring onion, stirfry for 1 minute until soft.

3) Quickly add in gravy and beef. Stirfry until beef is tender. Thicken with starch.

4) Serve hot. (optional: Add a dash of pepper)

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Simple dish but goes very well with hot plain rice!