Chinese Beef Or Lamb Stew (red Cooked Meat)

Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 2 lbs stewing beef or 2 lbs lamb shoulder, cube 3/4" - 1"
• oil (vegetable, peanut, canola)
• 1 lb vegetables, cut up (carrots, lo bok, etc)
• 1 medium yellow onion, cut in large chunks - to taste (leek works well too)
• 1 -4 clove garlic, smashed
• 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
• 2 star anise (opt for beef)
• 1 -2 piece chinese dried orange rind (opt for beef)
• chile, fresh or dried (optional)
• 2 -4 teaspoons brown sugar (start with the smaller amount and add more if desired)
• 2/3 cup soy sauce (use a combination of light and dark in any proportion)
• 2 teaspoons dry sherry
• 2 cups boiling water

Recipe

• 1 *staranise comes in the form of an eight point star.
• 2 ,each point having an anise seed in it.
• 3 most of them are broken up so use a total of eight points, more or less, to taste.
• 4 **theorange (or tangerine) peel has a slightly bitter taste that i like better with beef but this is personal taste.
• 5 it comes in plastic bags and has a long shelf life.
• 6 start by browning the meat in a few t of oil.
• 7 do it in batches so it gets well caramelized.
• 8 when the last of the meat is well browned, remove it all to a bowl.
• 9 (add more oil as needed).
• 10 add the onion, garlic, ginger, anise, orange peel and chiles to the wok (or pot); keep cooking, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to brown.
• 11 stir in the meat along with the sauce, bring it to a full boil, stir well and reduce heat to simmer.
• 12 cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour (lamb) or 2 hours (beef).
• 13 adjust seasonings, add the vegetables and simmer, covered for another half hour.
• 14 before serving, remove all the pieces of ginger, star anise, orange peel, chile, etc.
• 15 serve with steamed rice or boiled noodles.