Five-Spice Beef
A Korean-style beef dish made by slow-braising beef shank with five-spice seasoning. It has a rich golden-red color and a tender, savory-spicy texture.
Ingredients
Beef round (washed, sinews removed, cut into 9 cm long, 5 mm thick slices)
1 kg
Bean paste
15 g
Soy sauce
50 g
Shaoxing wine
25 g
Fine salt
10 g
Fennel (one of the five spices, wrapped in cheesecloth)
15 g
Scallion chunks
25 g
Cinnamon bark (one of the five spices, wrapped in cheesecloth)
10 g
Ginger chunks
25 g
Star anise (one of the five spices, wrapped in cheesecloth)
5 g
MSG
5 g
Beef broth
1 kg
White sugar (for caramelizing and seasoning)
50 g
Peanut oil (roasted, for final drizzle)
50 g
Sesame oil (for stir-frying)
35 g
Chili pepper (cut into segments)
1
Toasted sesame seeds (toasted, sprinkled on the dish at the end)
15 g
Cornstarch slurry (for thickening)
25 g
Instructions
1
Blanching
Wash the beef, remove the sinews, and cut it into 9 cm long, 5 mm thick slices. Place them in a pot of boiling water and cook through, skimming off all the blood foam, then remove. Transfer to a basin of cold water to rinse clean, then remove and drain.
2
Braising
Heat a wok, add sesame oil, and once hot, add the white sugar. Stir-fry until it turns into a caramelized sugar color, then pour in the Shaoxing wine. Add the beef broth, chili segments, bean paste, soy sauce, scallion and ginger chunks, salt, MSG, and the five-spice bundle (fennel, cinnamon bark, and star anise wrapped in cheesecloth), along with additional white sugar. Add the beef slices, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer-braise for 2 hours. Once the beef is tender, remove the spice bundle and the scallion/ginger chunks. Stir in the cornstarch slurry to thicken, drizzle with the roasted peanut oil, sprinkle evenly with the toasted sesame seeds, plate, and serve.
