The combination of multiple sauces creates a rich, savory aroma, with tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket and daikon radish that cuts through the richness.
Cantonese chefs have a knack for discovering unexpected yet brilliant ingredient pairings, creating uniquely flavorful dishes, and braised beef brisket with daikon in a clay pot is a classic example of this. A steaming hot clay pot dish easily brings a lively, festive atmosphere to the table, making it a frequent star at holiday banquets. As the weather turns cool, beef and lamb are excellent for boosting energy and strength; here, the brisket is cooked with Cantonese chili bean sauce and chu hou paste, complemented by large white daikon radish, resulting in a dish that is both distinctive and perfectly harmonious.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
1500 g (about 3.3 lbs) beef brisket
For best results, use beef brisket with layers of fat, tendon, and skin.
Additional Ingredients
white radish - to taste
Seasonings
3 star anise
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
dried tangerine peel, a small piece
1 whole cardamom pod
10 g (about 1 tbsp) Cantonese-style broad bean paste
25 g (about 1.75 tablespoons) Chu Hou paste (fermented soybean paste)
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) Chinese rice wine
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) light soy sauce
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) oyster sauce
10 g (about 2 teaspoons) white sugar
8 g salt
Dark soy sauce, a small amount
Green onions, ginger, and garlic - to taste
Cantonese-style broad bean paste is a fresh chili paste with a savory flavor, distinct from Sichuan Pixian broad bean paste—do not confuse them. If unavailable, regular fresh chili paste can be used as a substitute. Chu hou paste is a fermented soybean paste with a rich garlic and sweet aroma.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
① Wash the beef brisket and cut into 5 cm (about 2-inch) cubes (Image 2). Cut the daikon radish into irregular chunks (Image 3). Cut scallions into sections, slice ginger into thick pieces, and chop garlic into small pieces (Image 4).
*Soak the beef brisket in water for 1 hour to draw out the blood and minimize any gamey flavor.
*If you dislike the pungent taste of daikon radish, you can peel and blanch it first.
Step 2: Place the beef in a pot with cold water, add a small amount of scallion and ginger, and bring to a boil over high heat (Image 5). Skim off any foam and cook for 2 minutes (Image 6), then remove and drain.
*Place the beef in cold water and bring to a boil, which helps draw out blood and any gamey odors; skim off any foam that rises to the surface promptly.
Stir-fry the sauce ingredients until fragrant.
Pour a small amount of oil into the pot and heat to around 30-40% hot (low-medium heat). Stir-fry the Cantonese broad bean paste over medium-low heat for 10 seconds, then add the chu hou paste and stir-fry briefly (Image 7). Pour in hot water and bring to a boil.
*Cantonese-style broad bean paste is raw, so it needs to be stir-fried first. In this step, keep the heat low and the oil temperature low so the paste releases its fragrance. Chu hou paste is a fermented flour-based paste that doesn't need much cooking, so add it later—be careful not to burn it.
Braised beef brisket and white radish
④ Add the blanched beef to the pot, then pour in the cooking wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and all the spices (Image 8). Bring to a boil over high heat.
*After blanching, the beef may still release some bloody liquid; drain it off completely before adding the beef to the pot.
While the beef is braising, heat oil in a separate wok over high heat until it reaches 70-80% hot, then add scallion sections, ginger slices, and garlic cloves, frying until golden brown (Image 9). Remove and immediately add them to the beef pot, stirring to combine with the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer slowly for about 2 hours (Image 10).
*Frying the scallions, ginger, and garlic releases a rich, toasted aroma that effectively removes any gamey smell and enhances the flavor; be sure to quickly fry them in hot oil until golden brown.
*When braising the beef, use the lowest heat possible so the surface of the broth just barely simmers; if the heat is too high, the liquid will evaporate before the meat becomes tender.
⑥When the beef is almost tender, add the diced daikon radish and continue simmering for another half hour until soft (Figure 11).
*Add the white radish at the very end; if you stew it together with the beef from the start, it will turn into a mushy mess.
This recipe is versatile and can be adapted to your taste.
This method can also be used to make another famous Cantonese dish called daikon beef offal stew, with a similar approach—just substitute the beef brisket with beef offal. Make sure to thoroughly clean the offal beforehand. The same method can also be applied to braised lamb.
A lazy cook's trick: For a quicker version, simply braise the beef brisket and radish together in a clay pot with the seasonings until tender, skipping the initial stir-frying step.
If you want to save time, you can first mix the seasonings in a wok, then transfer everything to a pressure cooker and cook for about 20 minutes. Once the steam has fully released, open the lid, add the daikon radish, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Since daikon radish cooks quickly and becomes tender, it's best to switch to a regular pot at this stage.