This recipe takes a while, especially when it comes to frying and cooking the meat, but the result is a beautifully spiced stew with tender and crispy meat. It's perfect for winter weather.
The recipe is here and some pictures of the process are below
Ingredients:
2-4 Tbsp. cooking oil
2 lb. beef (chuck) cut in 1 cm x 2 inch strips
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp onion powder
Pinch of black pepper
4 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
2 cups water to braise beef
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced
1/2 of a cubanelle pepper, sliced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, sliced
4 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 cups water
Cilantro (optional)
2-4 cups Cooked rice
Directions:
In a large bowl, add meat pieces and season with chicken bouillon powder, onion powder, black pepper, lime juice, soy sauce, oregano and minced garlic. Mix together until all the ingredients are well blended. Let rest (covered) 30 minutes or overnight.
In a large pot over medium high heat , add cooking oil (enough to cover bottom of pan with ½ a centimeter). Add beef and cook uncovered for 10 minutes (until no longer pink). Lower heat to medium, give it a stir and cover and cook until the meat absorbs the juices (about 25 minutes).
When there’s no more juices in the pan, there will be a layer of glaze on the bottom. Add 1/2 cup of water at a time and stir the pot so the layer at the bottom of the pan comes off. Continue cooking the meat covered until all the water is absorbed. Repeat 3 more times with the remaining water (1/2 cup at a time). It takes 10-15 minutes per ½ cup of water for it to be absorbed.
The meat was tender after 40 minutes with 2 cups of water used to braise.
During the braising, the meat may start to look black, even burnt (see picture below), but don't worry! Every time it boils down a glaze forms on the bottom and on the meat, so what you see is a delicious crispy glaze on the meat which makes it even more flavorful.
Once the beef is tender, add sliced onion and peppers, stir to combine. Add tomato paste and water, stir to blend everything well. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in chopped cilantro.
Serve with rice.
3-4 servings.
The beef cooking down after one of the water additions.
The beef after cooking down and before adding the vegetables, tomato paste, and water. I know it looks burnt but it's actually super crispy. Everytime it boils down while cooking it a glaze forms on the bottom and on the meat, so what you see is a delicious crispy glaze on the meat.
The original recipe is from Johnny in the Kitchen's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATbPJFl8iCs
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