Miso braised beef cheeks with daikon radish & soba noodles

SERVES 8-10 PREP + COOK TIME 6 HOURS 45 MINUTES

25g dried shiitake mushrooms (about 12) 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1.6kg beef cheeks

5 green onions, trimmed

½ cup (130g) red (aka) miso

½ cup (125ml) tamari

½ cup (125ml) cooking sake

¼ cup (60ml) rice wine vinegar

⅓ cup (75g) caster sugar

40g ginger, sliced thinly

4 cloves garlic, halved

400g piece daikon, peeled, cut into thick rounds 360g dried soba noodles

5 eggs

2 bunches baby pak choy, trimmed 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds togarashi spice, to sprinkle

2 sheets nori, torn into large pieces

1 Place dried mushrooms in a medium heatproof bowl, pour over 2 cups (500ml) boiling water. Set aside for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.

2 Heat oil in a large heavy-based casserole dish over medium-high heat. Cook beef, in batches, for 5 minutes or until well browned. Transfer to a plate. Discard excess oil from dish.

3 Chop white part of green onions into 5cm lengths; reserve green tops for another use.

Add green onion lengths to the dish with miso, tamari, sake, vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, soaked mushrooms, 1½ cups (375ml) of the reserved mushroom liquid and 1 litre (4 cups) water. Bring to the boil; add beef. Cover; cook over lowest heat for 3 hours, adding the daikon in the last 30 minutes, or until meat is very tender and can be pulled apart with two forks.

4 Cook noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes or until just tender; drain.

5 Cook eggs in a small saucepan of boiling water for 6 minutes for soft-boiled. Drain; leave in cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel eggs; cut in half. 6 Remove beef cheeks from dish. Discard any fat or connective tissue; shred coarsely with two forks. Return liquid in dish to the boil, add pak choy; cook for 2 minutes or until just wilted.

7 Divide noodles among bowls; top with beef, daikon, mushrooms, pak choy and egg. Ladle over the broth. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and togarashi spice. Serve with nori sprinkled with a little more togarashi.

Cooked beef cheeks suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.