Beef stew a la House of Kimchi
This is a deconstructed recipe. That means the beef stew was cooked based on how we remember the flavors and textures of the beef stew served at the food court of Ali Mall in Quezon City, Philippines.
Ingredients
Beef
- cooking oil
- 1 ½ kilograms stewing beef (short ribs, brisket, crest or shank, or a combination of two or more of these cuts)
- 6 cups bone broth
Spices
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic
- 2 shallots or 1 whole red onion
- 2 thumb-sized pieces ginger rinsed, scrubbed, and sliced (no need to peel)
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 4 to 5 bird’s eye chilies
- 2 bay leaves
Seasonings
- 3 tablespoons gochujang (Korean chili paste) (the amount depends on how hot you want the dish)
- 6 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ cup white sugar (or more, if you have a sweet tooth)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Garnish
- finely sliced scallions
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Rinse the beef, pat dry with a kitchen towel and cut into two-inch cubes.
- Heat and brush a non-stick frying pan with oil and lay the beef cubes in a single layer.
- Brown the undersides of the beef before turning them to brown all sides.
- Transfer the browned beef cubes to the slow cooker and pour in the broth.
- Add the ginger, shallots (or red onion) chilies, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves.
- Stir in the gochujang, sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
- Cover the slow cooker, turn on HIGH and cook for two hours.
- Turn down the heat to LOW and cook for another five hours.
- Scoop out the beef, transfer to shallow bowls, ladle in the thin sauce, and sprinkle with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.
- Serve with rice. Optionally, serve the thin sauce on the side as broth.
Notes
About an hour before the cooking time is up, taste the cooking liquid and adjust the seasonings. You may want to add more soy sauce (or salt to prevent the stew from turning too dark) or sugar, or both.
The recipes published in 2006, 2009, 2017 and 2020 have been retired.