Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat

Filipino Beef Pares

Name: Filipino Beef Pares
Total time: 2 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 900 g, cut into 4 cm pieces beef brisket; 180 g, diced onion; 5 cloves, minced garlic; 25 g, sliced ginger; 2, cut into lengths scallions; 1.2 litres, for blanching water; 2 tbsp cooking oil; 2 tbsp brown sugar; 3 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 star anise; 700 ml low-sodium beef stock; 1 tbsp cornstarch (for the slurry); 2 tbsp water (for the slurry)

菲律賓甜香料炆牛肉

Total time: 125 min
Difficulty: Medium
Servings: 4 servings

Recipe overview

Blanch brisket, then braise it slowly with onion, ginger, garlic, star anise and a sweet soy sauce until fork-tender.

Ingredients

Main ingredients

900 g, cut into 4 cm pieces beef brisket
180 g, diced onion
5 cloves, minced garlic
25 g, sliced ginger
2, cut into lengths scallions
1.2 litres, for blanching water

Braising sauce

2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 star anise
700 ml low-sodium beef stock
1 tbsp cornstarch (for the slurry)
2 tbsp water (for the slurry)

Tools

raw-meat cutting board
chef's knife
large saucepan
colander
heavy pot with lid
wooden spoon
measuring spoons and jug
small bowl
clean plate
food thermometer
kitchen paper
second clean vegetable cutting board
clean serving bowl
clean fork

Steps

Step 1

Cut the brisket

First use the chef's knife on the raw-meat board to cut beef brisket 900 g into even 4 cm pieces; remove hard sinew but keep thin fat, then immediately wash and sanitise the knife.

Step 2

Blanch the beef

Bring water 1.2 litres to a boil in the large saucepan; add brisket 900 g and boil hard for 5 minutes until foam rises, then drain, rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Step 3

Cut aromatics

Next on a second clean vegetable cutting board dice onion 180 g, mince garlic 5 cloves, slice ginger 25 g and cut scallions 2 into lengths; keep each separate.

Step 4

Brown the brisket

Heat cooking oil 1 tbsp in the heavy pot over medium-high for 1 minute; brown brisket in 2 batches for 5 minutes each, then move to a clean plate.

Step 5

Cook onion ginger garlic

Add remaining cooking oil 1 tbsp; cook onion 180 g and ginger 25 g for 2 minutes, then garlic 5 cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Step 6

Melt the sugar

Turn to medium-low, sprinkle brown sugar 2 tbsp into the heavy pot and stir with the wooden spoon for 1 minute until bubbling but not black.

Step 7

Add braising sauces

Return brisket and add light soy sauce 3 tbsp, dark soy sauce 1 tbsp, oyster sauce 1 tbsp and star anise 2 in sequence; stir for 1 minute.

Step 8

Add beef stock

Immediately pour in beef stock 700 ml to just cover the brisket; heat on high about 4 minutes to a boil and skim surface fat.

Step 9

Braise slowly

Turn to the lowest heat, cover and simmer brisket, onion, ginger, garlic and star anise for 65 minutes, turning with the wooden spoon every 20 minutes.

Step 10

Check tenderness

Uncover and confirm brisket centres reach at least 75°C with the thermometer and pierce easily with a clean fork; if firm, cover and braise 10 minutes more.

Step 11

Thicken the sauce

Mix cornstarch 1 tbsp and water 2 tbsp in the small bowl; remove star anise, stream slurry into the brisket and stir over medium heat for 2 minutes until sauce coats the spoon.