Beef Stew

I'm not a chef or an expert on cooking by any means.  I am a homecook and I take my Asian roots with my American roots to mesh and create what is delicious to me.  With that said, this beef stew is another concoction that I created from the familiar flavors of my childhood without any formal training for a traditional authentic Chinese beef stew.  Although I would argue that this is authentic to me.

I saw this beautiful piece of beef shank suprisingly at our local downtown LA Ralphs supermarket.  Now, beef shank is tricky because being the leg of the cow, it has many tendons and needs to cook slowly for a long time to break down and tenderize otherwise it can be very tough and chewy.  Perfect for stew and incidentally its a cheaper cut of meat, which is always a plus!  

Ingredients (rough estimates):

1-2 Beef shanks

1 Package of seaweed

1 Package of Soy Bean Curd cubed

2 Carrots chopped

3 Red Jalepeno Chilis chopped

Rice Wine (Michiu)

Soy Sauce

3 Cloves of Garlic

3 Slices of Ginger

3 pieces of Star Anise

 Directions:

Cube the shank into one inch size pieces

 Throw all the ingredients in a pot with a generous splash of Michiu rice wine and about 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce, then add water until the liquid just covers the ingredients.

Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, and let simmer for about 45 - 60 minutes.  Enjoy the tender yumminess over rice or add some more water and cook some noodles in the mix for some beef noodle soup...mmmmmm....