Leek and beef stew

Yet another chinese home cooked recipe. Warning- I’m really bad with the measurements, since I just eyeball it. Next time I make this I’ll try and measure things out and update this post. Until then, just bear with me.

This is a dish my mom taught me and I have made multiple times. Its got a great beefy flavor and the sauce is sweet. If you cook it just right, the leeks almost melt…

Ingredients:

-3 giant carrots or 5-6 smaller ones- peeled and chopped (the giant carrots are usually sweeter)
-2 leeks-chopped (the big kind- prewash, chop off the ends. I use most of the bottom part and some of the greens, which is tougher in texture)
-beef stew meat (I usually buy a package from the butcher) and add as much as you want.
-rock candy
-“ba jiao” spice – literally means 8 legs. (see the 2nd picture below and on the right you see a star shape. thats the spice. it has an anise flavor to it)
-ginger
-soysauce
-rice cooking wine

1. Some prework includes chopping/washing the carrots and leek.

2. Also I chop up the stew meat into smaller pieces (to cook faster) and boil the meat in some water to clean it. Just a few minutes (~5 min) in boiling water and then pour out the water, rinse the meat, and put it back on the stove.

3. Onto the stew… Once the meat has been pre-boiled (not completely cooked), i add the ingredients. I apologize for my poor measurements, but I’ll do my best to describe.

-Pouring soy sauce from one of those kikoman pourers, I’ll do a ~4 second pour (~1/2cup or 3-4 circles around the pot).
-Pouring the rice wine, maybe ~3/4 cup (or 3 circles around the pot).
-I’ll also add 2-3 cups water. This should just about cover the meat in the pot.
-Then add piece of ginger (1 inch piece), one “ba jiao” spice and a good chuck of rock candy (1 inch piece).

4. Heat until boiling and then let boil on low heat for ~20-30 min, until the meat starts to give a little. If you check back and the liquid is getting low, just add more soysauce and wine in smaller proportions.

5. After ~20-30 minutes and the meat is getting tender, I’ll add in the carrots and leek. If the meat is not yet tender add another 10 min. At this time I’ll do another round of soysauce (1/4 cup) and wine (1/2 cup) and throw in another rock candy. Let boil over low heat for another 15-20 min.

6. By this time, the leeks should wither down and the carrots should be tender. Taste the stew and add additional seasoning (Salt) if necessary. I like extra liquid so I’ll add in some extra water and soysauce again.

7. Viola! Serve with noodles and enjoy. If you let the pot sit overnight, the liquid will continue to soak into the vegetables and meat. Just add some water when you heat it up again.