Sticky Spiced Beef with Noodles

So it’s that sticky, spiced beef that really is the star of the show here. And with those noodles and the crunchy cucumber, oh heaven. First up, let’s talk about the beef.

Why You’ll Love This

It’s that sticky, spiced beef that really is the star of the show here. And with those noodles and the crunchy cucumber, oh heaven.

The flavour is intense.

Tomato paste has a huge amount of umami and savoury flavour.

That beef is so soft and tender.

Our braising liquid is now the most amazing, delightful gravy sauce consistency.

Ingredients

• Beef short rib
• Chuck steak
• Oil
• Salt
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chinese Shaoxing wine
• Soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Brown sugar
• Whole star anise
• Cinnamon stick
• Homemade Chinese five spice
• Tomato paste
• Cornflour
• Water
• Chinese egg noodles
• Sesame oil
• Cucumber
• Spring onion
• Homemade chili oil

Instructions

1. Add a little bit of oil.
2. Season each little piece of beef with a bit of salt.
3. Sear this beef in batches.
4. Sear this beef until it’s nice and brown.
5. Add in just a little bit more oil.
6. Add in some onion.
7. Start scraping up some of that flavour from the bottom of the pan.
8. Add in a little bit of garlic.
9. Slice some ginger.
10. Deglaze it with some Chinese Shaoxing wine.
11. Really get in there with your spoon and lift off all of that flavour from the bottom.
12. Add my beef back in.
13. Get that in there as well.
14. I want some soy sauce and some dark soy sauce.
15. And some brown sugar.
16. I’ve got some whole star anise and a cinnamon stick.
17. And I’m using some of my homemade Chinese five spice.
18. A little sprinkling of that.
19. We’re going to put that in.
20. Get all of that lovely stuff mixed together.
21. Now lid on.
22. Let that gently simmer away for about 90 minutes or until that beef is really full tender.
23. Get these spices out first of all.
24. Take these bones out, obviously.
25. Slice through this beef.
26. Add a little bit of cornflour and water.
27. Mix that together a little bit.
28. Simmer away for a couple more minutes until I get a really thick, luscious, glossy sauce.
29. Scoop some of that off.
30. Put all of that beef back in.
31. Stir all of that beef through.

Cooking Tips

So I have a mixture of beef short rib and chuck steak for this one. The beef short rib has the bone, that’s great. That’s going to add some extra sort of gelatin into the mix. And the chuck steak, you’re really looking for some bits and pieces that have that nice marbling through the centre.

This searing part has nothing to do with sealing juices or anything like that. What we’re doing here though is we’re creating flavour.

I don’t want these guys to stew. I just want them to get really nice and caramelised and brown. That’s why I’m going to do it in batches.

Don’t waste any of those resting juices. Get that in there as well.

Tomato paste has a huge amount of umami and savoury flavour. So even though it’s not traditional, we’re going to put that in.

Serving Suggestions

To serve this up, I have some Chinese egg noodles. I just cooked them in some boiling water and just tossed them with some sesame oil so they didn’t get too sticky. And we want some of that amazing beef.

I want just a little bit of greenery and crunch. So I’m going to add some cucumber on the side.

I want a little sprinkling of some spring onion on the top.

This is totally optional, but you guys know that I love my spice. So I’m using some of my homemade chili oil just to finish off with some extra epic flavor.