Comments on: Red Cooked Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner

By: peter stetler

peter stetler — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:25:47 +0000

I think bitterness can also come from dark soy sauce. I notice that the brand I have used- Pearl River Bridge dark soy and mushroom dark soy,
add a bitterness even when added in very small quantities to my
large quantity of my master red sauce. I have stopped using it altogether,
until I find a brand that is not acrid; this however may not be possible, because I believe that the darkness is basically created from burnt sugar.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:24:00 +0000

I’m currently making this. 1.5 hours to go, though, so it’s too soon to say if I’ll be successful. It smells really good so far, at least. Here it’s rare to find tendon/shin/shank of anything in the supermarket. But chuck roast is available everywhere, so I tried that instead. I hope my dried tangerine peels will work out all right too. Eating tangerines isn’t exactly a chore, and drying the peels afterwards is easy enough.

Just one question. In the text you mention garlic, and there are two cloves in one of the images. But it’s not in the recipe. So, should I or shouldn’t I?

Oh well, I think I’ll pop one of those solid garlics in the pot whole just to be on the safe side.

By: Kian

Kian — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:59:21 +0000

Doubling the spices for a double recipe should not make this recipe bitter. Did you use the dried tangerine peel or fresh citrus peel? If you use fresh orange or tangerine peel you should remove the white pith. Scrape off as much of the white stuff as possible. The pith will make the stew bitter. Otherwise I don’t see why any of the other ingredients would make your stew bitter.

By: Everett Gong

Everett Gong — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:59:20 +0000

I tried to make this dish last weekend and it came out very bitter. I’m thinking it may have to do with the fact that I used too much of the herbs. Since I cooked twice as much meat as the recipe calls for, I used twice the amount of the ingredients in my braising cheesecloth. Is that the mistake? What else could cause this result?

By: Kian

Kian — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:25:16 +0000

Susan, I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe. Beef shin is really great for red cooking. Keep cook’n!

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:49:11 +0000

BTW I used beef shin (shank), which I bought at my local Whole Foods. Yesterday I checked at Stop & Shop, and they too had shank. The meat was incredibly tender, not dry in the least. Great suggestion for braising beef.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:47:09 +0000

Thanks so much for posting this – I made this the other day for the first time in my life, and it turned out great.

Yay! I can do this myself! No need to pine away, waiting for my next trip to China.

By: Kian

Kian — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:50:43 +0000

Michele, I love the version for the noodles also. It is actually common to add a little bit of Sichuan hot bean paste during braising for making the noodles dish.

Rachel, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this recipe. You’re welcome.

By: Rachel (the VERY happy neighbor)

Rachel (the VERY happy neighbor) — Fri, 02 May 2008 22:59:32 +0000

You top Superman, Spiderman, and Green Latern in my list of superheros. I can’t wait to try this. And Jaffer will be forever grateful. I really recommend this recipe to anyone who can’t eat pork. I did secretly try the pork one day and it was mouthwatering. So this should be a great way to enjoy the flavor without the guilt!
Thanks Kian!

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 01 May 2008 17:06:39 +0000

I like the sound of the soupy version. Daikon is the absolute best thing in stews. Mmmm…