What spices and sauces are used to make braised beef?

We all know that there are many ways to eat beef, and braised beef with soy sauce is a very common way to eat it. Many people will make braised beef with soy sauce at home. The methods of making braised beef with soy sauce are different, and the spices and seasonings used are also different, and the taste and mouthfeel are also different. So what spices and sauces are good for making braised beef with soy sauce? Let's take a closer look below!

What spices and sauces are good for making braised beef?

The color of braised beef is red, shiny and firm, and the taste is moderately salty, tender and refreshing, not hard or woody. There are many recipes for making braised beef, and the spices generally required are: star anise, white pepper, Sichuan pepper, cloves, cinnamon, five-spice powder, cumin, grass fruit, etc. As for the choice of sauce, you can add it according to your personal preference. If you like a stronger sauce flavor, use yellow sauce; if you don't like yellow sauce, just add dark soy sauce.

How to cook braised beef

Ingredients: 1 beef shank

Marinade: 3 star anise, 5g each of white pepper, Sichuan pepper, cloves, cinnamon, 2g each of five-spice powder and cumin, 2 grass fruits

Seasoning: 2 shallots, 20g ginger, 5 cloves garlic, 100ml dark soy sauce, 15g rock sugar, 30ml rice wine

Start making:

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients: put all the marinade ingredients into the marinade bag; cut the green onion into sections, peel and slice the ginger; smash the garlic; use a fork to poke a few holes in the beef tendon to make it easier to taste; pour water into the pot, heat it over high heat, put the beef in, cook it in boiling water for a while, take it out, and soak it in cold water;

Step 2: Preparation of marinade: Heat oil in a pot, add onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until fragrant; add 2000 ml of water, add marinade bag, dark soy sauce, rock sugar and rice wine, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Step 3: Braising: Put the blanched beef tendon into the pot, add the marinade to cover the meat, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer until the beef is cooked through (poke the beef with chopsticks, if you can pierce through it, it is cooked through).

Tips:

1. After the braised beef is ready, do not take it out of the pot immediately. Let it soak for as long as possible (it can be stored in the refrigerator together with the marinade).

2. When slicing the braised beef, cut horizontally along the beef fibers so that the slices will not fall apart. It can be served with garlic sauce.

What are the special requirements for making braised beef

First, choose the meat

To make tasty braised beef, material selection is the key, and you must choose beef shank; shank is the meat on the cow's thigh, which is connected by tendons and has moderate hardness, making it the most suitable for making braised beef.

Second, blanching treatment

Before making braised beef in soy sauce, it must be blanched and then cooled before making the braised beef in soy sauce. Doing so will make the braised beef tender but not loose, and have a great taste!

First, soak the selected beef shank in clean water to remove as much blood as possible from the meat; then, pour clean water into a pot, bring the water to a boil, put in the beef, cook it briefly in the boiling water, take it out, and soak it in cold water to allow the beef to shrink.

Third, grasp the time and heat

When making braised beef, first boil it over high heat, then turn to low heat. Generally, it takes about 90 minutes to stew until the beef is cooked through. If the meat is large, it will take longer (you can poke the beef with a chopstick, if it can be pierced through, it means it is cooked through). The heat must be low, so that the beef tissue can become loose and it is easier to absorb the sauce; there is another important detail to make braised beef well, which is to soak it for as long as possible after turning off the heat, so that it will be more flavorful and have a better flavor.

How to cut the braised beef into pieces

The sauced beef is not easy to break when it is cut after cooling. In addition, although beef tendons are usually used, it does not need to be stewed for several hours. Generally speaking, 2 hours is enough, and the beef is ready when chopsticks can be inserted into it.

Remedy: Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it so it won’t break so easily when you cut it later.