Red Wine Beef Stew (2008-10-09)
My friend asked me to write about the way I make my beef stew in red wine. The key word here is "I". People have their own ways of cooking this dish but this is how I've always made it for the past 15 years.
I love using beef belly to make this dish, but that's virtually
impossible to get in Tokyo. In fact it's near impossible to get
large hunk of beef in any supermarkets here ( or a whole chicken for
that matter), I can only get it in the underground shopping area in
Ueno (
)'s Ameyokocho (
). And even so, the choice for the cut of beef is
limited. The day I went to Ueno, I had to settle with shank meat
which was the only available cut.
The ingredients amounts are approximate, always taste and season
before serving. Make a large batch and freeze a portion for later
consumption if you like.
Beef Stew In Red Wine (4 servings)
A) Beef 1.2 kg (2.5Ibs) cut into large chucks, a large onion cut
into chunks, a cup of largely diced carrots, a cup of largely diced
celery, 4 fat cloves mashed garlic, a few springs of fresh thyme, 3 bay
leaves, 3/4 bottle of good red wine. Don't use cheap wine that
tastes like vinegar, it'll ruin the dish and waste your time.
B) Tomato paste 4Tbsp, honey 1Tbsp (more if the wine is very dry),
salt 1.5-2tsp (according to taste), chicken stock to
cover the beef.
Steps:
1) Season beef with freshly milled black pepper and put everything
in (A) in a zip lock bag the day before you make the dish. Flip
the bag several times during this period to evenly marinate the beef.
2) The next day, drain the beef and vegetables, reserve the liquid,
remove the beef from the mixture.
3) Put 4 or 5 Tbsp flour into a bag, toss the beef a few chunks at a
time in it, shake off excessive flour and place the beef in a
bowl.
4) Brown beef pieces a few at a time till all is done.
5) In the same pan, saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, then add
the tomato paste and fry another minute, then deglaze the pan with the
reserved liquid, honey, and salt. Add enough stock to barely
cover the beef and vegetables (I added too much this time >_<)
6) Cook covered, on low heat 2.5 hours, or in a 180C (350F) oven 3
hours, or in a 11.6psi such as T-Fal pressure cooker 45 minutes, or
15psi such as Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker 30 minutes. (Let the pot cool
down naturally)
7) If there's too much liquid left in the stew like mine did, reduce it
by boiling on medium high heat for 10 minutes or so till it's a
thickish consistency. I had to further thicken mine with a corn
starch slurry.
8) Taste for seasoning, serve and enjoy!
Note: The longer you let the stew sit, the more pronounced the red
wine flavor becomes. We had it with rice on day 3 and it was even
more delicious.
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