To beef lovers, a juicy and tender steak is probably the way to go. While I like to occasionally enjoy an expensive steak dinner or feed myself with a much cheaper but equally delicious sizzling steak in black pepper sauce at home, my craving for beef has never been fully satisfied with steak.
Perhaps it’s because I have yet been to a world class steakhouse or I just don’t know how to appreciate a piece of fine steak…..or perhaps it’s my stubborn stomach would not accept anything other than the tender, spicy, and flavorful beef stew from Sichuan. I think it’s the latter.
Just like mac n’ cheese in the States, bratwürste in Germany, or Bibimbab in Korean cuisine (you get the drift), the Sichuan spicy beef stew is a true comfort food in Sichuan and across China. It is so popular that spicy beet stew has become a standard artificial flavor for instant noodles and frozen microwave meals.
The Sichuan Spicy Beef Stew (aka Sichuan Spicy Red-Cooked Beef) is the ultimate treat for beef eaters and spicy food lovers like me. Although the name of the dish seems to suggest something explosive and very spicy, this beef dish is rather moderately spicy compared to another famous Sichuan beef dish.
Restaurants in Sichuan, China usually serve the dish in a clay pot or cast iron skillet, with beef drenched in an oily spicy broth. The beef is slowed cooked until it’s tender and extremely flavorful. You’ll also get lots of variations of this dish thanks to the well-guarded secret species each restaurant uses.
This homemade version recipe is what I have been using for years. I know you might have to fetch some of the species from Asian grocery stores or specialty stores but trust me your effort will be well rewarded.
Don’t forget to have a bowl of rice to go with this beef stew!
Sichuan Spicy Beef Stew – Ingredients (2 servings)
- 3 lb Beef (brisket, shank, or lean cuts)
- 1.5 lb Radish (turnip / daikon) or Potatoes
- 5 clove Garlic
- 2 inch Ginger (about 4 slices)
- 2 tbsp Sichuan chili bean paste
- 2 tbsp Soy sauce
- 2 small Rock sugar
- 4 tbsp cooking wine.
- 4 cup Water or beef stock
- Chopped scallion and cilantro
Dry Spices
- 4 Star anise
- 6 pc Dried chili
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 pc Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Fennel seeds
- 2 pc Clove
- 1 pc Dried orange peel
- 4 pc Bay leaves
- 2 Black cardamom
Sichuan Spicy Beef Stew – Step By Step
1. Cut the beef into 1 inch thick slices against the grain. Peel the radish or potatoes and cut into 1.5 x 1.5 cubes.
2. Blanche the beef in boiling water. Rinse the beef with cold water and let it drain.
3. In a wok, combine 2 tbsp of cooking oil with spicy bean paste, garlic, ginger, and rock sugar. Cook in low heat until aromatic.
4. Add the beef and mix it with the condiments. Add soy sauce and cooking wine. Cook for another 2 minutes.
5. Transfer the beef and all the condiments to a stock pot or large Dutch oven casserole. Add the dry species and the water or stock. Bring to boil and simmer in low heat for 1 hours or until the beef is cooked.
6. Add the radish or potatoes to the beef stew. Add salt to taste. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes or until both beef and radish are tender.
Sprinkle some chopped scallion and cilantro to serve.
PS. And yes you have guessed it right, this is the very beef stew used in the much more well known spicy Sichuan beef noodle soup.
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
in step 2 u say to raise the beef with cold water and drain is it supose to be rince
Hello, thank you for spotting the typo. It has been corrected.
Hi, Yi! I absolutely love your website and its authentic recipes are much needed! I just wanted to give you a small heads up! The link for the sichuan spicy hot pot article takes the user to this page instead! Thanks again for the amazing website!
Thanks Michael for the heads up. I have updated the link. Thanks again for spotting the typo!
Wow this looks like a very authentic recipe, i’ve came across certain people who are not used to Chinese cuisine saying our food is tasteless but i think they will definitely change their mind after trying out this braised beef noodle. indeed they did, i used to make Chinese braised beef for my friends of different ethnic background and they loved it very much. i put some green tea powder and it turned out pretty nice, it adds extra aroma and taste.
hi presa1200, thanks for dropping by my site. i am so happy to hear that you conquered your friends with braised beef noodles! I like the idea of adding the green tea powder and i believe i’ve got quite a bit in stock so i’ll try out your suggestion. Thanks!
haha no problem, our food will always be our pride. i got the idea of adding green tea powder from a Chinese website, i used 1 sachet of OSK green tea because the leaves are very tiny that resemble powder. for the equivalent amount maybe you can use 1 tbsp of green tea powder. some recipes use tomato as well, i think it will add a bit of sweet and sour taste. i’m gonna try out your version, it calls for orange peel and cardamon which i didn’t have these previously. nice photos and presentation btw!
Thanks. Would love to hear how it came out!
When us the rock sugar supposed to be added in?
hi Sunshine, thanks for catching it. I just updated the recipe method. It is supposed to be added in step 3. Thanks.
Hi Yi
this looks just liken a version I had ina Szechaun Chinese restaurant in London. It was lovely. Theirs had a little 1″ square white cabbage added which gave the palate a light contrast which was nice.
I note a lot of recipes using dried spices tend to gently fry them for a few mins until they become aromatic. Have you tried that and did it produce a more aromatic version?
Hello Declan, you are absolutely right about roasting the dry spices before stewing. This process does bring more flavor out of the spices. The addition of cabbage is also an awesome idea. When I make a beef stew noodle soup I use cabbage or bok choy to create a similar contrast. Thanks for your feedback!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I have all the ingredients, except for the dried orange peel and my time to cook it. Thanks for sharing.
The Flor, thanks for checking out the recipe. Please let me know how it comes out! If orange peel is the only thing pulling you back I’d say go for it with out the orange peel!
Thank you for this great recipe. I made it yesterday, still need a little tweaking to measure up to my favorite and one and only authentic Chinese restaurant on Istergade in Copenhagen
And yes I know Copenhagen is as far from China as you can get, but after 20 years in the States I do think I know my Chinese.
Hi KimmyCat, thank you for stopping by my blog. This is one of those recipes that takes some time to experiment. In fact when I cook this dish for myself (as opposed to my guests), I put twice as much Sichuan bean paste as the portion in the recipe. I just like it spicy and strong haha. Please feel free if you haev any questions. Thanks again for your visit.
P.S. after a quick lookup, I found the distance between NY and Beijing is 2000 miles more than the distance between Copenhagen and Beijing. So after all you aren’t that far from China than where I am lol. But fortunately, there are a lot of authentic Chinese restaurants in NY than many other major cities in the US.
Hi Yi,
And I’ll be sure to add a bit more bean past.
I’ll be making this dish next week for a bunch of our Danish friends, and I’m sure it’s going to blow them away, in a good fiery way
And thank you for this great blog:)
Thanks for trying out the beef stew recipe KimmyCat. I’d love to hear how it comes out to be!
Thanks again for the blog article.Really thank you! Awesome.
Hi Yi,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It looks delicious. Can’t wait to try the spicy beef stew, especially when the weather is now getting colder.
yup this will be perfect for the cold weather!
I’ll definitely love to see that beef noodle soup recipe, too!
Hi Calvin, I’ll be sure to inform you once I post the beef noodle soup recipe. Thanks.
Hi Yi! This is my first time on your blog and I’m enjoying browsing around! You have lots of great recipes and how wonderful you are cooking these great dishes! I love the spices you added to this stew. I can’t eat spicy but my husband is crazy about the spice.
Hi Nami. Thanks for our visit. If you prefer you can actually tune down the heat and make it just a little spicy….but I always prefer to have more chili though
We have stopped eating beef for a while now, about 6 months and I truly miss it. And I don’t think I can make stew out of chicken, can I? Beautiful recipe as always, Yi …
Hi Jun, thanks for checking out the recipe.. I think chicken will work but it will taste a little different.
Great blog! Found out about it from saveur.com been looking for a Chinese/Taiwanese authentic blog for awhile and this turned up. My parents run a Taiwanese small eats restaurant in Hawaii and I want to expand my knowledge of cooking heritage now that I’ve got a son. Keep up the great work!
Hello Shi kai Wang,
Thank you for the visit. A few years ago I realized how little I knew about Chinese food so I created this blog to expand my Chinese culinary knowledge and share ideas with people with common interests.
I hope you find the dishes interesting to you. As always, please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, and questions!
Yi
Love the aroma of the spices you have used in this beef stew! Best stew for the cooler days and nights ahead.
Hi tigerfish, I totally agree with you that this is a great stew for the winter.
i love the Chinese beef noodle soup with tender sliced beef like this…..is this the same beef stew used in the noodle soup? Thanks!
Hi Fionna, yes this beef stew is great for a spicy beef noodle soup. I’ll probably post the recipe for the noodle soup separately shortly. Please stay tuned.
the chinese in me would appreciate this much more than a fine piece of steak too
im salivating reading this in the morning! hahaha. the meat looks so tenderr as do the radishes…i never seem to have the right spices at home for dishes like this unfortunately. will stock up on orange peel and star anise next time im at the chinese shop.
btw, regarding your comment, NYC seems like a much more exciting/happening cultural place to live than Syd
i have friends moving there for work…lucky!
Thanks Viv. I agree it’s a pain to get all the spices but I think the effort is well rewarded
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