Cosy up with this tender, slow-cooked Chinese language beef curry in a wealthy, savoury sauce with garlic, ginger, and five-spice. Excellent for meal prep, or a make-ahead household meal. This beef curry is freezer-friendly and full of flavour. Serve it over rice or noodles for a comforting, fuss-free fakeaway at residence.
Nicky’s Recipe Notes
I’ve been making this dish for a few decade now. It began out as an enormous batch meal when the household used to all pile into my grandad’s little home and take turns cooking for about 15 of us. I believed it could be helpful to share it with you as a meal for four-to-six folks (I normally serve 4 folks then put two parts within the freezer) that we make repeatedly as a result of it’s so easy and so flippin’ tasty!
- It’s make-ahead pleasant – straightforward to prep and prepare dinner prematurely, then reheat when wanted. The flavour deepens over time too.
- It’s a household favorite – successful with youngsters and adults. The curry itself is delicate, however you possibly can regulate the spice degree or or add chillies on high for those who like a bit of warmth.
- It’s freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and freeze in parts for a fast dinner within the week.
- It’s nice to make for a crowd. You may simply double and even triple the recipe.
📋 Components
- I like to make use of darkish soy sauce on this for a wealthy sauce. Paired with the brown sugar you get a pleasant stability of savoury with a tiny contact of candy.
- The braising beef (additionally referred to as stewing beef, diced beef, beef cubes) is ideal for gradual cooking, changing into tender and flavourful. You can too swap for pork (chunks of pork shoulder work finest) too.
- The Chinese language five-spice is an absolute should for that signature Chinese language curry sauce flavour. The addition of the garlic and ginger offers the sauce a wealthy, fragrant base.
Professional Tip
For those who’re serving to folks with completely different spice palates, serve up the delicate parts first, then stir in a teaspoon of chilli flakes or a great sprint of scorching chilli sauce and serve to the individuals who prefer it a bit of hotter.
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🍽️ What to serve it with
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Preheat the oven to 160C/325F (fan).
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Add the chunks of beef to a bowl with the flour, salt and pepper and toss collectively to coat.
1 kg (2.2 lbs) braising beef, 3 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour, ½ tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper
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Warmth the oil in a dutch oven or massive, heavy-based pan over a medium-high warmth. When scorching, add the meat and fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring sometimes, till golden brown throughout.
2 tbsp oil
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Flip the warmth all the way down to low and add the onion to the pan. Cook dinner for five minutes, stirring sometimes, till the onion begins to melt.
1 massive onion
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Add within the garlic, ginger and 5 spice and stir although for 30 seconds.
3 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp minced ginger (or ginger paste), 1 tsp Chinese language 5 spice
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Add the meat inventory, soy sauce, brown sugar and the mushrooms. Carry to the boil, stirring a number of occasions to launch any remaining crispy bits from the underside of the pan.
500 ml (2 cups + 1 tbsp) beef inventory, 60 ml (4 tbsp) darkish soy sauce, 2 tbsp mushy brown sugar, 200 g (7oz) mushrooms
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Place a lid on the pan and prepare dinner within the oven for 3-4 hours – stirring a few occasions throughout cooking – till the meat begins to crumble. You may add a bit of extra water or beef inventory if it begins to look too dry. Alternatively you possibly can switch to a gradual cooker and prepare dinner on excessive for 5-6 hours or low for 7-8 hours, or, you possibly can prepare dinner on a low warmth, on the hob, with the lid on for 2-3 hours.
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Serve with rice and prawn crackers and high with chilli flakes and spring onions in the event you like.
egg fried rice or boiled rice, sliced spring onions (scallions), chilli flakes, prawn crackers
Storage & Reheating
Cook dinner, then cool as rapidly as doable earlier than refrigeration or freezing.
- Refrigeration: Retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 3 days.
- Freezing: Freeze for as much as 3 months; thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
- Reheating: Heat gently in a lidded pan on the hob (stovetop) or within the oven at 180C/375F (fan) till piping scorching. Stir a few occasions throughout reheating. You could want so as to add a number of splashes of water or inventory to loosen up the sauce.
Dietary info is approximate, per serving NOT together with accompaniments (primarily based on this recipes serving 6).
Energy: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 40g | Fats: 13g | Saturated Fats: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g | Monounsaturated Fats: 7g | Trans Fats: 0.02g | Ldl cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 1161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g
Diet info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
This Chinese language Beef recipe was first posted in September 2016. Up to date in July 2025 with extra info, new photographs and some tweaks to the recipe.
? Often Requested Questions
Sure! After browning the meat, sautéing the onions and including all the sauce components, switch every little thing to a gradual cooker and prepare dinner on low for 7-8 hours or excessive for 4-5 hours.
Sure, double all the components (make certain your pan is large enough) and prepare dinner within the oven for a similar period of time. It’s going to take round 10 minutes longer to fry every little thing off initially as a result of elevated quantity of components.
I exploit pretty cheap braising/casserole or stewing steak – usually referred to as chuck steak, which comes from the forequarter. Normally, this consists of elements of the neck, shoulder blade, and higher arm. It’s a troublesome however very flavourful reduce of meat. It has plenty of connective tissue, which wants longer cooking to interrupt down and grow to be tender.
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