Tomato Braised Beef Brisket
In winter, what we look forward to the most is this pot of braised beef brisket with tomatoes. The beef brisket is slowly stewed soft in the sweet and sour tomatoes. The soup is thick. Paired with a bowl of hot rice, it is an extremely perfect dinner.
Required raw materials and substitutes
Main ingredients
Beef brisket: The meat is firm and chewy. After stewing, it is soft, tender and juicy. It is the core of the dish and provides a rich meaty aroma.
Tomatoes: Sweet and sour and delicious, rich in juice. It can make beef more delicious and make the soup thick.
Onions: With a unique pungent and sweet flavor, it can enhance the layering and complement beef well.
Accessories
Ginger: It has a mild pungent fragrance and can remove fishy smell and enhance fragrance, adding a warming ginger fragrance to the dish.
Bay leaves: With a unique fragrance, it can enhance the layering of the dish and make the taste more abundant.
Star anise: Brings a rich five-spice flavor and makes the overall flavor more three-dimensional and full.
Seasonings
Cooking wine: Effectively removes fishy smell and greasiness, enhances the deliciousness of meat and makes the taste more refreshing.
Salt: Seasoning and enhancing freshness, balancing the overall taste and highlighting the original taste of ingredients.
Tomato paste: Enhances the tomato flavor, enhances the color and makes the taste more rich.
Sesame oil: Decorates and enhances fragrance, adding layers of aroma and making the flavor more mellow.
Substitutes
Beef brisket: Beef tendon or beef rib can be used as substitutes. The taste is similar and they are also suitable for long-time stewing.
Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes can be substituted, but the amount should be appropriately reduced to avoid being too sour.
Onions: Scallion white or Chinese chives can be selected as substitutes. The fragrance is slightly different but they can both provide unique flavors.
Bay leaves: Bay leaves are a good substitute with similar fragrance.
Star anise: Five-spice powder can be used as a substitute. The amount needs to be appropriately reduced.
Cooking wine: Yellow rice wine or white liquor can be used as substitutes. Pay attention to adjusting the amount.
Sesame oil: Sesame oil or pepper oil are both good alternative choices.
Which part of beef brisket should be chosen?
The most suitable parts of beef brisket for braising are the front leg meat and brisket of beef.
The front leg meat of beef has clear texture, even distribution of fat and lean, and high collagen content. After stewing, it will become extremely soft and tender, and the soup will be more intense. The brisket of beef has evenly distributed fat marbling. After stewing, the meat is tender and juicy.
When purchasing, pay attention to the meat presenting a healthy red color, with luster, and being elastic when pressed. It is best to choose the part with tendons because the fascia will turn into gelatin during the stewing process, making the meat more smooth and tender and the soup more thick. When cutting into pieces, cut along the meat grain. In this way, after stewing, it will be easier to absorb the flavor and the taste will be better.
Should the fascia on beef brisket be removed?
The fascia on beef brisket does not need to be removed. This is the most essential part of beef brisket.
After long-time stewing, the fascia will turn into collagen. It can not only make the meat softer and more tender, but also make the soup thick and the taste more layered. If the fascia is removed, the stewed beef brisket will lose its toughness and the taste will be reduced.
When cooking, pay attention to controlling the heat. At first, boil it over high heat, and then turn to low heat for slow stewing. Only in this way can the fascia be fully softened. If you are worried that the fascia is too thick and not easy to absorb the flavor, you can make a few cuts on the particularly thick parts when cutting into pieces, but do not cut it completely. In this way, it can absorb the flavor and retain the essence of the fascia.
How to adjust if it's too sour?
Solutions to deal with overly sour braised beef brisket with tomatoes:
First, add 1 to 2 spoons of sugar for seasoning. Sugar can neutralize the sourness of tomatoes, but add it in small amounts several times to avoid making it too sweet and affecting the original taste of beef brisket. If it's still a bit sour, you can add an appropriate amount of carrot chunks and use the natural sweetness of carrots to balance it.
The reason for excessive sourness is usually too much tomatoes used or choosing tomatoes that are too sour. When selecting tomatoes, choose ones with moderate redness. Overripe or unripe ones are both likely to affect the taste. Before cooking, you can taste the sourness of tomatoes first.
During the cooking process, tomatoes are best added in two times. Add half of them for the first time to stir-fry and bring out the soup. Add the second half before it's about to be taken out of the pot. In this way, it can control the sourness and maintain the shape of tomatoes.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·500g beef brisket
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·450g tomatoes
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·60g onions
Accessories
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·20g ginger
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·2 pieces bay leaves
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·2 star anise
Seasonings
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·15ml cooking wine
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·5g salt
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·20g ketchup
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·5ml sesame oil
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Ingredient processing: Cut beef brisket into uniform chunks. Peel tomatoes and cut them into pieces. Cut onions into small pieces. Slice ginger. Set aside separately by category.
Step 2
Blanching treatment: Add 1200 milliliters of clear water and 5 milliliters of cooking wine to the pot. Put beef brisket in and bring to a boil over high heat. Carefully skim off the foam.
Step 3
Drain after blanching: Take out the blanched beef brisket, rinse it with cold water, and drain the water for standby.
Step 4
Fry seasonings to release fragrance: Heat oil in a hot pan. Fry ginger slices until fragrant. Add bay leaves and star anise and stir-fry to bring out a rich aroma.
Step 5
Stir-fry beef brisket: Put beef brisket chunks in and stir-fry quickly over high heat to color the surface and lock in the juice.
Step 6
Add vegetables: Pour in onion chunks and stir-fry until softened. Add half of the tomato chunks and continue to stir-fry for 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 7
Add liquid: Add 10 milliliters of cooking wine and 800 milliliters of clear water. Bring to a boil over high heat and transfer to an electric cooker.
Step 8
Stew and reduce the sauce: Select the stewing function and wait patiently for 1.5 hours until the beef brisket is soft and tender.
Step 9
Season and finish: After stewing, pour it back into the pot. Add the remaining tomatoes and season with salt and ketchup.
Step 10
Final embellishment: After confirming the taste, finally drizzle sesame oil and stir-fry quickly and evenly before taking it out of the pot.
More recipes worth trying
Classic Culinary Delight: Dongpo Pork
Delicious Glass Noodles with Braised Pork Ribs Recipe
Easy Red Wine Braised Pork Belly Recipe
Recipe Variations
Classic Version: Add potato chunks to absorb the soup and make the taste fuller. Pair with carrots and white radishes to add natural sweetness and supplement various vitamins. Add mushrooms to enhance the umami of the soup base and make the taste richer.
Spicy Version: Add broad bean paste and dried chili peppers, along with prickly ash and garlic, to make the taste spicy and the soup thick.
Cooking Methods: Ordinary stewing takes 1.5 hours and is suitable for making on weekends. The pressure cooker finishes in 25 minutes and is suitable for weekday dinners. The electric stew pot takes 6 hours and is suitable for office workers to prepare in advance.
Nutritional Adjustments: Select lean beef brisket to control fat intake. Add broccoli to supplement vitamin C. Use king oyster mushrooms instead of beef for vegetarians.
Flavor Suggestions: Add curry powder to turn it into curry beef brisket. Sprinkle black pepper to enhance the aroma. Put in bay leaves and star anise to increase the fragrance. Finally, add scallions and sesame seeds to enhance the appearance.
Serving Suggestions
Pairing with Food Staples:
White rice is the most classic choice and can perfectly absorb the rich soup. Italian noodles are also a good option, especially suitable for Western tastes. Steamed buns or bread are suitable for dipping in the delicious soup.
Temperature Control:
The optimal eating temperature is between 60 and 70 degrees. Too hot will affect the taste experience. It is recommended to let it stand for 3 to 5 minutes before serving to slightly cool down the soup. In winter, a higher temperature can be maintained, and in summer, it should be cooled appropriately.
Tableware Selection:
It is recommended to serve on a deep plate or casserole for better heat preservation. Prepare a small bowl for soup to facilitate eating. Equip with a long-handled soup spoon for easy access.
Nutrition Combination:
It can be paired with a refreshing cold dish to neutralize the taste. Green leafy vegetables can supplement dietary fiber. After-meal fruits can help digestion.
FAQs:
Some adjustments can be made in the ingredients. Add two slices of lemon or a small piece of pineapple. The natural acidic substances in fruits can soften the meat. There are some special seasoning packs for stewing on the market. They contain papain, which can also soften the meat. If there is beer at home, beer can be used to replace part of the clear water, making the beef brisket easier to become tender.
Remove impurities: Blanching can remove the blood, residues and peculiar smell on the surface of beef brisket, making the final soup clearer and without turbidity or fishy smell.
Improve the taste: By blanching, the greasy feeling on the surface of beef brisket can be removed, and the meat will be more firm. The taste after stewing will also be better, without an overly oily and fishy feeling.
Lock in nutrition: Short-time blanching can make the protein on the surface of beef brisket coagulate and form a protective layer. During subsequent stewing, it can better lock in nutrition and soup, making the meat more tender and juicy.
The temperature of the electric rice cooker is maintained between 95 and 98 degrees. This temperature can make the beef brisket soften but not be cooked too badly. After 1.5 hours, the beef brisket will be just flavorful.
Compared with stewing in a pot, the electric rice cooker has better sealing and there will be no soup overflowing to dirty the stove. When stewing, there is no need to worry about the water evaporating too quickly. The electric rice cooker will automatically control the temperature to prevent it from boiling dry.
During the process of reducing the sauce, frequently turn the beef brisket so that each piece of meat is evenly coated with thick soup. Gently lift the beef brisket with a spatula. The soup will hang on the surface of the meat pieces to form a shiny light. When it does not flow down immediately, it means that it is almost reduced.
Seasoning should be done when the soup is reduced to one-third. Taste it with a spoon and add salt and light soy sauce as appropriate according to the saltiness. If the soup is too thick, add two or three spoonfuls of boiling water to adjust. Finally, pour on sesame oil and stir a few times to let the aroma emit and then it can be taken out of the pot.
REVIEWS
