Braised Beef Rice 滷牛肉燥飯

There's braised pork rice, so of course there's braised beef rice too. In fact, sometimes you can find braised "beef" rice in Taiwan as a special item. It's not hard to make at all, basically exactly the same way as making braised pork rice. Just the cost for the main beefy ingredient is much higher.

Braised beef rice 滷牛肉燥飯 - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 portions)?

• 550 grams beef 
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 stalks scallion
• 2 big bulbs shallots
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Some salt
• Some black pepper
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 big star anises
• 1 tablespoon crystal sugar
• 3 to 4 servings steamed rice

Pickled cucumber:

• 220 grams/about 3 skinny cucumbers
• Some salt
• 1 big garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon white sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

How?

Let's make the pickled cucumbers first. Trim-off both ends for the cucumbers then slice to thin pieces. Use some salt, mine was about 1/2 teaspoon to "massage" into the cucumber slices. Let it sit for 15 minute while the salt helps drawing out some moisture from the cucumber.

Meanwhile peel and grate one garlic clove. And when that quick marinating time is up, rinse the cucumber with drinkable water to wash away the salt. Drain and squeeze really dry. Season with grated garlic, 1 teaspoon of white sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar. 

Mix till evenly blended. Taste and see if you need any extra seasonings. Some prefer it sweeter and some like it on the sourish side, so adjust according to your preference. Once all checked, store in a container and into the fridge till our braised beef rice is ready.

Now it's time to handle the beef part. By the way, remember to precook the rice to serve alongside the braised meat.

Slice the beef to medium small chunks. I got the part with some tendons, not the ideal cut but since that's what's left in my fridge, I'll just use it. Otherwise beef shank, brisket, or even the pricey sirloin are all great options.

Peel and slice the shallots. Peel and chop 4 garlic cloves. Destem the scallion and just tie the whole stalks to a knot if possible, otherwise cut into longer sections is fine too. It's just easier to pick out the knotted scallion towards the end of braising.

Have a big pot ready, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and switch to medium heat. Add in shallots and scallion. Sear till aromatic and slightly browned on some sides.

Then add in chopped garlic along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Cook for about a minute.

Transfer beef chunks over and sear a bit, at least till the meat changes color. Pour in 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 1/2 cups of hot water, 2 bay leaves, and 2 star anises. Bring to a boil then adjust the heat to keep it at a medium bubbling stage. Continue to braise for 45 to 60 minutes or till the sauce has been reduced. Like a bit condensed juice left but not saucy.

Towards the end, pick out bay leaves, star anises, and scallion. If the scallion has almost melted into the sauce, it's fine to just leave it there. Add 1 tablespoon of crystal sugar, which will help balance out the saltiness and give the sauce a little shine. Cook till all the sugar has been dissolved.

Serve the braised beef with rice and remember to add some of that pickled cucumber stored in the fridge. 

You know what? The actual time of braising can be reduced maybe by around 15 minutes if you use more expensive and more tender cut. However, it's totally up to you. Just like braised pork rice, some will use chunkier meat for a fuller bite, but that requires more time and usually cost a bit more to make.

And some will use finer ground meat, which takes less time to cook and will result in a smoother bite instead. As for me, I'll always go with the chunkier route. 

Extended reading:

• Braised soy sauce chicken over rice
• Spicy gochujang chicken rice bowls

Healthy Eating In A Delicious Pasta Form - Thick Cut Bacon and Lentil Ragu

Is it safe to say that lentils might be as common to Italians as rice grains to Chinese? Well, if that really is the case, then it might somewhat explains why it took me quite some effort to find organic lentils in Taiwan since the majority of the locals probably never had lentils before.

Good thing is that there's this specific company that import all sort of higher quality grains from around the world, and they have a little shop in Taipei, so I can get my hands on precious bag of lentils. However, with few more bills in exchange but I'm happy enough to finally found the ingredient needed.

Thick cut bacon and lentil ragu - 

Ingredients (about 6 servings)?

• 500 grams linguine pasta
• 250 grams lentils
• 400 grams thick-cut bacon or ham
• 1 medium celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 medium onions
• 40 grams dried porcini mushrooms
• 8 pieces sun-dried tomatoes
• 400 grams canned whole tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Some extra virgin olive oil
• Some salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 250ml dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup pasta cooking water (just in case)
• Some black pepper
• Some red chili flakes
• 1 lemon (optional)

How?

Cube the thick-cut bacon or ham. Destem then dice the celery. Peel and dice the onions and carrot. Give the sun-dried tomatoes a few chops. Peel and chop the garlic cloves.

Rinse the dried porcini mushrooms then soak in room temperature water for about 20 minutes. Drain out the liquid and give the mushrooms a few chops before use in cooking.

Have a Dutch oven ready and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Switch to medium heat and add in cubed bacon or ham. Sear till some fats rendered.

Add in cubed celery, carrot, and onion. Stir-fry and let cook for at least 10 minutes.

Then add in chopped garlic along with sun-dried tomatoes and porcini mushrooms. Mix and cook for couple more minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook for one minute, just a little heat to bring out that tomato aroma.

Pour in 250ml of dry white wine and everything in canned tomato. Also add 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley, and 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.

Bring the whole thing to a boil then add in the lentils. Mix first then pour in the chicken stock. I put 2 cups under the ingredient list, but use as much as you need in order to get like 1 centimeter above the top of ingredients. 

Adjust the heat to keep everything at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for 30 more minutes and make sure to stir the pot once a while.

Later on pick out the bay leaves. Give it a tasting test and see if more seasonings are needed. I added some salt during this step and used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of it along with 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of red chili flakes.

Meanwhile, have another pot of water ready. Bring to a boil and add in few pinches of salt. Cook the linguine pasta till almost al dente. Save some pasta water first then drain out the rest.

Transfer pasta to the Dutch oven and mix till blended. Check and see if you need to pour in some of the pasta water we saved earlier for better consistency.

Finally, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil a few rounds. Give it a final mix then the ragu will be ready for plating.

You can squeeze in some fresh lemon juice right before serving, or simply have some lemon wedges on the side instead. The lemon part is more of a personal preference, in which I always love to have that kick of bright citrusy note to a hearty pasta dish.

If you can't find lentils that easily, simply substitute with other types of beans such as cannellini or chickpeas, but do pay attention with actual cooking time. You might need to shorten the time for cooking when using other type of beans or simply add in the beans a bit later. Don't want to end up with mushy beans in the end.

Extended reading:

• Pasta all'ortolana (healthy pasta with lots of vegetables)
• Zucchini and squash pasta with parsley and mint sauce
• Vegetable and meatballs pasta bake