Braised ox cheeks with soy and mirin (pictured on p32)
A versatile, slow-cooked beef dish that works well spooned over rice, tossed into noodles, stuffed into steamed buns, or even wrapped in Chinese pancakes with spring onions and cucumber. This is a great freezer filler staple to have on hand for reheating during the week. Brisket, chuck or shin will work well, but ox cheeks give a depth of flavour, richness and thickness to the sauce that’s unlike any other cut.
6 HOURS | SERVES 4 6 | EASY
ox cheeks 4 (about 1kg in total)
vegetable oil 2 tbsp
spring onions a small bunch, cut into chunks
ginger a thumb-size piece, sliced (no need to peel)
garlic 4 cloves, bashed
red chillies 2, split
mirin 150ml
light soy sauce 100ml
soft light brown sugar 50g
star anise 2 cinnamon stick 1/2 szechuan peppercorns 1 tsp
cloves 3 fennel seeds 2 tsp
beef stock 500-700ml
rice vinegar 1-2 tsp (optional)
1 Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Pat dry the ox cheeks with kitchen paper, trim away any sinew or fat and season with salt. Heat the oil in a casserole and sear the ox cheeks in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned and seared. Set aside.
2 Add the spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilli to the casserole (or, to use a slow cooker, see cook’s notes, below), stir for
1-2 minutes until they take on some colour, then stir in the mirin, soy, sugar and whole spices. Bring to a simmer, and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Nestle the seared ox cheeks back into the pan and top up with just enough beef stock to cover the meat. Cover with foil, put on the lid, and transfer to the oven. Cook for 5 hours until the beef is meltingly tender.
3 Remove the meat from the braise, and strain the remaining liquid into another pan to remove the whole spices and aromatics. Set over a low flame and bubble until thickened to a sauce. Shred the meat and stir back into the sauce. Check for seasoning, and add a pinch of extra sugar or a dash of rice vinegar to balance, if needed. Stir into wide noodles, spoon into steamed buns or simply serve over steamed rice with some pickles (see below).
PER SERVING 370 kcals | fat 15.1G | saturates 4.7G | carbs 23.7G sugars 18.7G | fibre 1G | protein 34.4G | salt 3G