Connie’s notes
A stew cooked with the incomparable umami goodness of fermented ingredients. Soy sauce, sake, mirin and miso paste are all fermented foods from Asia. Slow cooking the beef with all of them results in a salty sweet dish with the subtle heat from the ginger.
A good stew requires a cut of meat that requires a long and slow cooking time. Tough cuts are ideal. Short ribs, short plate, brisket, oxtail and shank are my favorites. In this recipe, I used a combination of short plate and fatty brisket.
Stews can be tricky to cook with the need to stir occasionally and check the amount of remaining liquid to avoid the sauce from drying out. But with a slow cooker, stewing meat becomes practically effortless.
There are two options for adding the sweet potatoes. Brown them first in a little oil then add to the beef during the last 15 minutes of cooking. This is the process described in the recipe instructions below.
But if you’re not in a rush, I suggest you add the potatoes the following day. Most stews taste better after sitting in the fridge overnight. This beef stew is no exception to that general rule. I cooled the tender beef cubes in the sauce, transferred them to a container and allowed the meat to continue soaking up the flavors.
The next day, cubed sweet potatoes were lightly fried in a wok. With the surface browned but the centers still requiring additional cooking, I dumped in the beef and sauce. As the stew reheated, the sweet potato cubes continued to cook. By the time the sauce was simmering, they were perfectly done.
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 900 grams stewing beef (about two pounds)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seed oil
- 2 cups thinly sliced onion
- ⅓ cup light soy sauce
- ⅓ cup sake
- ⅓ cup mirin
- 1 two-inch knob ginger peeled and sliced
- 1 heaping tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 to 3 cups sweet potato cubes
- 2 to 3 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions to garnish
Instructions
- Rinse the beef, wipe dry with a kitchen towel and cut into two-inch cubes.
- Heat the sesame seed oil in a wok or frying pan and brown the beef cubes in the hot oil (in two to three batches, if necessary).
- Spread the onion slices on the bottom of the slow cooker pot and place the browned beef cubes on top.
- Pour in the soy sauce, sake and mirin. Add the ginger, miso paste and sugar. Pour in just enough boiling water to cover the meat.
- Set the slow cooker on high and cook for three to three and a half hours or until the beef is tender.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and brown the sweet potato cubes.
- Scoop out the sweet potato cubes, add to the stew and cook for ten to fifteen minutes longer.
- Serve the stew topped with scallions.
10-minute pork and broccoli stir fry
