Chu Hou Braised Beef Brisket

Ingredients

• Stewing pot, pressure cooker (optional, but highly recommended!)
• Beef brisket (ideally flank brisket with tendon)
• Chu hou sauce (the key sauce), Pixian chili bean paste, red fermented bean curd, char siu sauce (optional), oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce
• Huadiao wine, baijiu
• Bay leaves, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, dried chilies, cloves, licorice root, dried chilies, bird's eye chilies (optional), ginger, garlic

Steps

1. First prepare the supporting ingredients:
2. Bowl 1: cut the ginger into 1.5cm*1.5cm pieces, peel half a head of garlic, and if using bird's eye chilies, cut them into 1 cm pieces.
3. Bowl 2: 2 bay leaves, 0.5 g Sichuan peppercorns, 2 star anise, 3 dried chilies, 3 cloves, 2 slices of licorice root.
4. Bowl 3: 2 pieces of red fermented bean curd.
5. Bowl 4: 15 g chili bean paste.
6. Bowl 5: 10 g rock sugar.
7. Bowl 6: 10 g Huadiao wine and 10 g baijiu.
8. Bowl 7: 50 g chu hou sauce, 20 g oyster sauce, 20 g char siu sauce, 5 g dark soy sauce, 60 g light soy sauce.
9. Don't cut the beef; put it straight into cold water, blanch over high heat, and take it out when the water boils.
10. Rinse off the impurities on the surface, cut into large 4cm*4cm*4cm chunks, drain and set aside in a bowl.
11. Over high heat, heat the wok, add oil, pour in bowl 1 (ginger, garlic, bird's eye chilies) and stir-fry until fragrant.
12. Over medium-low heat, add bowl 2 (spices) and stir-fry evenly for about 30 seconds.
13. Over medium-low heat, add bowl 3 (fermented bean curd) and mash it with the spatula.
14. Over medium-low heat, add bowl 4 (chili bean paste) and stir-fry evenly for about 30 seconds.
15. Over medium-low heat, add bowl 5 (rock sugar) and stir until melted.
16. Over medium-low heat, add the brisket and stir-fry until it takes on color.
17. Over high heat, drizzle bowl 6 (wine) around the edge of the wok and stir-fry quickly until the beef surface is slightly browned.
18. Pour in bowl 7 (sauces) and stir-fry quickly, watching the liquid at the bottom, until it bubbles constantly and thickens slightly.
19. Transfer everything to a stewing pot or pressure cooker and add water to cover the ingredients.
20. Choose the stewing time according to your pot:
21. a. Regular stewing pot: simmer over low heat for 3 hours b. Pressure cooker: 40 minutes under pressure
22. When the time is up, open the lid and adjust the seasoning: if not salty enough, add salt or light soy sauce (a little at a time, tasting until right); if not sweet enough, add sugar the same way.
23. Once the seasoning is right, take out the brisket first.
24. If you want radish or potatoes, peel and cut them into 2 cm thick slices and cook in the pot for 10 - 15 minutes (or until the texture you like); in a pressure cooker, cook under pressure for 5 minutes.
25. When done, take out the radish and potatoes and put them with the brisket.
26. Strain the sauce and pour it into the bowl.