It’s no secret I love to make hearty, comfort foods during the colder months. Over the last two months, there have been fluctuations in the spectrum of cold weather we’ve experienced in Ohio. There were days where the wind would rip through your face. There were days where the snow would make the roads unbearable to drive in. There were even days where it was so cold, your phone’s battery would shut down within five minutes of standing outside. This actually happened to my iphone during the last week of January. I was using my phone while standing outside and within five minutes, my iphone battery went from 100% to 6%. Luckily, as February comes to an end and March begins, we will see more sunlight and possibly get warmer weather. In the meantime, to help me stay warm during the last few days of February, I’ve been making some hearty meals in the kitchen. One of these hearty meals is my Asian beef stew. I typically make a more traditional western style beef stew, but today, I’m sharing my recipe for an Asian beef stew. My Asian beef stew features beef as the protein, and succulent shiitake mushrooms, baby bok choy, carrots, and onions as the preferred vegetables. The key to developing a good Asian beef stew is to use dried shiitake mushrooms. Yes, it does take longer to reconstitute the mushrooms, but the depth of flavor provided by the dried mushrooms is unmatched. Trust me, you do not want to skip this step. When I was planning to make my Asian beef stew over the weekend, I had to soak some dried mushrooms in water two hours in advance. This gave the mushrooms enough time to absorb the water and become soft enough to use. I also saved some of the mushroom water to add directly into the beef stew for a truly authentic flavor. To round out the rest of the dish, I added some sesame oil, roughly chopped garlic, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Once the beef stew was done cooking, the only missing piece was a bowl of warm jasmine rice. I prepared just enough rice for Kevin and I to enjoy with our Asian beef stew for dinner.
Asian beef stew:
· 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water for at least two hours, quartered
· ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
· 1 teaspoon sesame oil
· 1 large piece of beef chuck steak or any other cut you prefer, cut into large chunks
· 1 medium onion, quartered
· 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
· 4 carrots, peeled and cut into about ½ inch pieces
· ½ tablespoon Shaoxing wine
· 1 tablespoon soy sauce
· 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
· ¼ cup water reserved from soaking the mushrooms
· 2 cups water
· 6 baby bok choy, halved
· 2 tablespoons cornstarch
· 2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Note: Make sure you soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water for at least two hours prior to using. Reserve about ¼ cup of the water used to soak the mushrooms to add into the beef stew.
1) Heat a Dutch oven pot on medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and sesame oil. Let the oil heat up before adding the beef. Brown the beef on all sides. Remove the beef to a plate. Set aside.
2) Add the onion and garlic to the Dutch oven pot. Cook until the onion begins to soften and the garlic becomes aromatic, about 1-2 minutes. Add the carrots. Cook for another minute. Add the wine, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and water from soaking mushrooms. Stir to blend all of the ingredients together. Add in 2 cups of water.
3) Return the beef back to the pot and continue to cook for an additional fifteen to twenty minutes. Add the baby bok choy during the last minute of cooking time. Once the leaves of the baby bok choy begin to wilt, make the cornstarch slurry by mixing the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Pour the slurry into the beef stew. The beef stew will begin to thicken immediately. Let the beef stew cook for an additional minute.
Takeaways: Adding rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms to the beef stew elevates the flavors of the Asian beef stew to a whole new level. You can also add in bamboo shoots, and radishes if you want an even more traditional Asian beef stew. Feel free to customize the vegetables used depending on your preferences.