Nanking Beef

In Asian cuisine, long period of cooking is very apparent. This may be to really get the flavors of the ingredients but it is used to soften tough cuts of meat. Nanking uses beef shank which can be really tough if it were to be cooked for a short period of time. Even if Chinese cuisine is known for fast cookery, it can still be said that they have patience in cooking. For this dish, one-pot cooking is done and it is usually easy to cook but it really takes a long time. It uses a variety of spices which works very beautifully with the tender beef. 

Ingredients:
Olive oil
Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Ginger, peeled and shredded
Spring onions
Red chilli
1 1/2 kg braising beef
plain flour
Chinese five spice
Star anise
Light muscovado sugar
Chinese cooking wine
Dark soy sauce
Beef stock
Bok choi, steamed
Procedure:
1.) Heat the oil in a shallow casserole. Fry the onions, garlic, ginger, and chilli until soft and fragrant. Set aside and dredge the beef in flour and brown the beef. Set aside
2.) Add the five spice and anise in the pan and put in the vegetable mix and fry for a minute or so. Add the sugar and then the beef. Add a splash of the wine. Heat your oven at around 150 degrees celsius.
3.) Add in the stock and your soy and bring it to a simmer. Tightly cover and transfer it to the oven, cook for two hours, stirring after one hour. When the meat becoems soft, season with more soy and serve with the steamed bok choi.

As you can see from the recipe, it takes a long time to prepare but just like any other braised beef, the long cooking process will be very much worth it in the end! You will see how the tenderness of the meat works so wonderfully with the spices! Try it and see for yourself!