Tomato Beef Rice Bowl
My son came home for the National Day holiday — the first time we had been apart for so long — and I wanted to cook some of his favorite dishes. He specifically requested tomato beef rice bowl. I have made tomato-braised beef (beef brisket) countless times before, sometimes using brisket from the deli, sometimes fresh, usually in a rice cooker or electric pressure cooker because I'm worried I'll forget about something on the stovetop. I just got a new enameled cast-iron pot, said to be ideal for braising, so I opened it up to braise a pot of beef and served it over freshly steamed rice. The combination was fantastic — I ate a whole extra bowl and we didn't leave a drop of the sauce behind.
Ingredients
Canned fresh rice
2 cans
Tomatoes
4
Beef
900 g
Water
2 cans
Green onion
0.5
Light soy sauce
2 tbsp
Oyster sauce
1 tbsp
Fish sauce
1 tbsp
Salt
to taste
Sugar
to taste
Corn oil
to taste
Sichuan peppercorns
1 small handful
Star anise
a few
Bay leaves
a few slices
Cinnamon stick
1
Ginger
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. Wash the beef ahead of time in clean water with ginger slices to soak out the blood, then lift it out and drain off the water.
2
Step 2
Wash the tomatoes and cut them into chunks. Peel off the tough outer layer of the onion, wash it, and cut it into chunks. Only half an onion is needed.
3
Step 3
Start by cooking the rice. Pour the canned fresh rice into the rice cooker. Two cans of rice were used. This rice does not need to be washed, but if you are concerned about cleanliness you can give it a quick rinse.
4
Step 4
The ratio is 1 can of rice to 1 can of water, so add 2 cans of water.
5
Step 5
Select the cook setting on the rice cooker to start cooking the rice.
6
Step 6
Add a little oil to the enameled cast iron pot, add the spices on low heat, and stir-fry until fragrant.
7
Step 7
Add half of the onion and cook until fragrant, then add the tomato chunks and stir-fry until they break down into a saucy pulp.
8
Step 8
Add the beef chunks and stir-fry until the beef turns white. At this point the pot has produced a lot of broth, so there is no need to add extra water.
9
Step 9
Begin seasoning. Add 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce.
10
Step 10
Add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce (optional if you don't have any), and an appropriate amount of sugar.
11
Step 11
Add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and mix evenly. There is no need to add water. The enameled cast iron pot does not consume much liquid when braising; the juices released by the tomatoes and beef in the pot are sufficient.
12
Step 12
Cover the pot with its lid and simmer on low heat. Remember to stir several times in between to prevent the bottom from sticking.
13
Step 13
After braising for about 45 minutes, add an appropriate amount of salt to season. When the beef is tender and fully flavored, turn off the heat. Pack rice into a bowl, invert it onto a plate, then pour the broth and tomato beef over the top. Big bites of beef and rice make for an extremely satisfying meal.
14
Step 14
Finished product photo.
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Step 15
Finished product photo.
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Step 16
Finished product photo.
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Step 17
Finished product photo.
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Step 18
Finished product photo.
