Braised Beef Shank

Lately, I’ve been trying to base my cooking on whatever cut of meat is on sale for the week.  A little while ago, beef shank was on special and I wondered what I could do with it.  Not too many dishes popped up when I did a search on the internet and it doesn’t seem to be a very popular cut in western cuisine either.  I’ve only had beef shank before as a cold starter dish in Chinese restaurants but have never tried to make it myself so I decided this was the time to start.

Stir fry the ginger, garlic and dried chiles in oil until fragrant.

Add the Chu Hou paste to the pot.

Throw in the beef shank and cover with the sauce and ginger mixture.

Add in the soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar and enough water to come halfway up the beef shank.  Cover and allow to braise for 2 – 3 hours until tender.

After 2.5 hours, the beef shank is finally tender.  At this point you want to allow it to cool and refrigerate overnight.  When ready to eat, slice, top with some of the braising liquid, a drizzle of sesame oil and enjoy.

Braised Beef Shank

Ingredients:

• a boneless whole beef shank (I used one that was about 2.5 lbs)
• 2 tbsps canola oil
• 2 gloves of garlic, sliced
• 2″ piece of ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsps Chu hou paste
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• 2 dried chilies
• a piece of rock sugar about the size of 2 tbsps
• sesame oil
• water

Directions:

1. In a large heavy stock pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tbsps canola oil over med-high heat.  Add garlic, ginger and dried chilies and stir fry for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
2. Add in the 2 tbsps of Chu Hou paste and coat the ginger mixture.
3. Add beef shank to pot and coat with Chu Hou mixture.
4. Add in 1 tbsp rice wine, 2 tbsps soy sauce, rock sugar, and pour in enough water to come halfway up the beef shank.
5. Bring mixture to boil and then turn down to low simmer and cover.  Allow to simmer covered for 2 – 3 hours until tender.  A chopstick should be able to pass through the center of the beef shank with  little resistance.
6. Uncover, and allow to cool before refrigerating overnight.
7. The next day, remove beef shank from braising liquid and slice into thin slices.
8. Bring braising liquid back to boil and pour a few spoonfuls over beef shank.
9. Drizzle with sesame oil and serve.