Red Braised Beef (or aka Red Cooked Beef) is made by simmering beef with soy sauce, star anise, chili bean paste, red chilies and more. We make it on a weekly basis as not only is already a delicious entrée, you can also use this beef to make the classic Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup!

What does braised beef mean?

Braising beef is not unique to Asian cooking - there's a lot of dishes across the world that uses braising, for example in France there is Beef bourguignon (also delicious).

To braise beef is basically to brown the beef first at a high temperature, and then simmer it in a covered pot with liquid. It is similar to stewing, however, braising usually involves cooking large pieces of meat in partially covered liquid, while stewing uses smaller pieces of meat and is totally immersed in liquid.

By the way - if you like red braised beef, you will most likely also enjoy my red braised pork belly, red braised chicken, and red braised fish!

Why is it called Red Braised Beef?

This dish is called Red Braised Beef because in Chinese it is called Hong Shao Niu Rou 紅燒牛肉. Hong Shao 紅燒 = Red Cooked. Niu Rou 牛肉 = Beef!

The mix of tomatoes, chili sauce, soy sauce, star anise, and other ingredients in the braising broth causes the beef and the sauce/broth/soup to turn in to a reddish color.

About Beef Shank

You can technically use different types of beef for this dish (and other braised dishes), but we usually use beef shank.

Where does beef shank come from? Beef shank is located under the brisket and is cut from the leg above the knee to the hip or shoulder. This area has a lot of connective tissue, and is perfect for stews or braising.

If you can’t find any locally, you can try online meat ordering places! For example, Steaks and Game – they ship to anywhere in the US other than Alaska and Hawaii!

Customizations

This beef stew is very customizable! Here are some ways to switch it up:

Spice it up

You can add more chili bean paste, dried red chili peppers, or chili oil to kick it up a notch! Or why not all of the above if you like it real spicy!

Switch up the veggies

In my opinion, tomatoes is the a must as it adds flavor to the dish. However, you can also add other veggies such as carrots, daikon radish, onions. Just add it before you start simmering at low heat.

You can also add more tomatoes about the last 30 minutes of the stove top version if you'd like the tomatoes to be more intact when you serve it:

If you like like this dish...

If you like red braised beef, have I got some recommendations for you!

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup - This dish is the noodle soup version of this dish. In fact, the noodle soup uses this red braised beef. So if you've made it, you should totally try making it in to a noodle soup. Usually the first day we serve is with rice, and the second day we turn it in to beef noodle soup

Clear Broth Braised Beef - This dish is a very similar dish except it is braised with different ingredients, instead of the darker and heavier flavors of soy sauce and chili bean paste, Clear Broth braised beef uses flavors of ginger to bring out an aromatic flavor.

Red Braised Pork Belly - Similar to Red Braised beef, red braised pork belly is also red due to the similar ingredients used to braised the pork belly. This is such a delicious dish, a must try!

Chili bean paste

Chilli Bean Paste aka Doubanjiang 豆瓣酱, is a chunky sauce you can buy at the store that is spicy and savory. It’s traditionally made from fermented broad beans, chili peppers, soybeans, salt and flour. There are also different ones you can find, for example some will add spicy chili oil in it already.

Chili Bean Paste is often used in Sichuan food (ex: mapo tofu), which might explain why I love it because I love Sichuan food (and my grandma was from there!). I use it in my Szechuan Chicken, Twice Cooked Pork and Jalapeno Chicken.

You can buy it at your local Asian super market or even on Amazon such as this one: Lee Kum Kee LKK Chili Bean Sauce (Toban Djan).

How do you make Red Braised Beef?

First gather your ingredients:

• 1 lb beef shank, cut into 2-inch chunks
• Water (for blanching)
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• ½ inch ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoon chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
• 1 large tomato, cut into wedges, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoon rice wine
• ¼ cup light soy sauce
• ¼ cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 5 star anise
• ½ tablespoon Sichuan Peppercorn (optional)
• 3-4 dried red chili peppers (optional)
• Salt, to taste

First, we're going to do is blanch the beef. Place beef in a pot of cold water, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, immediately remove the beef from heat and rinse with cold water. Discard the water.

Now, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add cooking oil, ginger, green onions, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add the chunks of blanched beef and tomatoes in to the wok/pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes or until beef is slightly browned. Stir in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, and brown sugar.

Transfer to a soup pot. Add enough water to cover the beef. Add star anise, Sichuan peppercorn, and dried red chili (if using).

Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for about 2 hours or until desired tenderness, stirring occasionally so it cooks evenly.

Remove from heat and you can serve as an entrée with rice, or serve with noodles, veggies and a boiled egg to make Taiwanese noodle soup!

Slow Cooker Red Braised Beef

Place beef in a pot of cold water, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, immediately remove the beef from heat and rinse with cold water. Discard the water.

Now, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add cooking oil, ginger, green onions, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add the chunks of blanched beef and tomatoes in to the wok/pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes or until beef is slightly browned. Stir in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, and brown sugar.

Transfer to crock pot and add enough water to cover the beef. Add star anise, Sichuan peppercorn, and dried red chili (if using).

Cover slow cooker. Cook for 4-5 hours on high heat, or 6-8 hours on low heat.

Remove from heat and serve!

Instant Pot Red Braised Beef

Place beef in a pot of cold water, and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, immediately remove the beef from heat and rinse with cold water. Discard the water.

Now, heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add cooking oil, ginger, green onions, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add the chunks of blanched beef and tomatoes in to the wok/pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes or until beef is slightly browned. Stir in light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, and brown sugar.

Transfer to crock pot and add enough water to cover the beef. Add star anise, Sichuan peppercorn, and dried red chili (if using).

Close and lock the lid. Select the Manual or Pressure Cook function and set timer for 45 minutes at high pressure.

When the instant pot indicates it is done, allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes or carefully manually release. Remove lid carefully and serve!

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