Cantonese Braised Beef Brisket
Tender Beef Brisket with a Wonderful Scarlet Color
Cantonese braised beef brisket originated in the Thirteen Factories trading ghetto in the Xiguan district of Guangzhou, and has been a favorite dish for Cantonese for nearly 200 years. Along certain roads in Guangzhou, such as Beijing Street, the enticing aroma of Cantonese braised beef brisket completely fills the air.
The dish is made by lightly frying white radish and beef brisket, and then stewing with various seasoning ingredients for a long period of time. The brisket ends up with a bright red coloring, soaked through with juices from the white radish and the unique flavor combination from the seasonings.
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ pounds (1,500 grams) beef brisket
- 1 white radish
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) ginger
- 1 green onion
- 1 bulb of garlic
- 3 aniseeds
- 1 piece of Chinese cinnamon bark
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 Dahurian angelica root
- 1 cao guo (also known as Amomum Tsaoko)
- tangerine peel to taste
- 1½ teaspoons (8 grams) salt
- 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon (5 grams) oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) chili bean sauce
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) chu hou paste
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) rice wine
- 2 ½ teaspoons (10 grams) white sugar
- cooking oil, to taste
Cooking Directions
Preparations
- Wash the green onion, and chop into small pieces. Wash the ginger, and slice into thin flakes. Peel the garlic, and chop into small pieces. Peel and wash the white radish, slicing diagonally and rotating after each cut. Wash the beef brisket, and cut into pieces approximately 1-2 inches on a side.
- Place the aniseed, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, Dahurian angelica root, cao guo, and tangerine peel together in a soup stock bag (or a zipper bag).
- Pour water into a pot, and bring to boil under high heat. Once boiling add in the green onion, ginger, and beef brisket. Blanch for two minutes and discard the water. Remove the beef brisket and wash in clean water.
How to braise the beef brisket
- Add cooking oil to a pot and bring to heat. Pour in the chili bean sauce and cook for 10 seconds under low heat before adding the chu hou sauce and oyster sauce.
- Stir-fry for a short period of time before adding water, and bring to boil under high heat.
- Add in the beef brisket, garlic, light and dark soy sauces, sugar, cooking wine, salt, and soup stock bag. When the water returns to boil, turn to low heat and allow the beef brisket to braise for 2 hours.
- Tip: When braising, be sure to cook under low heat so that the beef brisket will be tender when done.
Final step
- Add in the white radish, and braise for an additional 30 minutes.
Nutritional Value of Cantonese Braised Beef Brisket
Beef Brisket
Chinese medicine believes that beef is a good source of protein, and more closely meets human nutritional needs than other meats, such as pork. Beef can strengthen the immune system and supports growth development.
Consuming beef in the winter, when temperatures are colder, is especially beneficial to staying healthy.
White Radish
White radish is one of the most commonly available foods to people across China. Full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, amylase, magnesium oxide, manganese, and more, many believe that white radish can actually help break down carcinogens found in other foods to keep the body healthy.