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Cook: 2.5-3hours of slow cooking

Difficulty: Easy

A Stew of Beef with Ginger, Soy and Apple Juice

This is a fabulous stew slightly amended from Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall's "River Cottage Everyday". Stews are the ideal option for entertaining or feeding a lot of hungry mouths as quantities can so easily be increased. In addition, they are a great option for "batch cooking", cooking ahead, freezing and re-heating when needed. I love this one of Hugh's because it is so different to a "traditional stew." Zesty and vibrant, melting beef in an almost Asian style chilli-apple-ginger sauce. Yum yum! And, it is so easy to throw together, requiring minimal chopping. 5 mins is all that is required from the time-poor chef! You can do this with shin or chuck of beef. Shin needs about an hour longer in the oven. Hugh suggests cooking at 120. I have upped the heat to 150. I feel I read somewhere that this is the minimum temperature for the sinewy bits of membrane to properly dissolve into the stew.

Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

  • SERVES 4
  • 500 g Shin or Chuck of Beef, cut into 2-3cm thick slices
  • 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 6 Large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 Thumb sized pieces of ginger, thinly slcied
  • 3 tablespoon Tart fruit jelly such as redcurrant or crab apple
  • 150 ml Soy Sauce or reduced salt soy sauce (avoid the stick tamari version)
  • 350-500 ml Apple juice
  • 2 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
  • 2 Fresh chillies, de-seeded and sliced into thin strips
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste

Method

one. Heat the oil to a medium-high temperature in a casserole dish. Season the meat pieces and fry to brown all over. Do this in batches if necessary, to avoid overcrowding the pan and steaming/ greying the meat. Move occasionally around the pan, but not too often. The beef pieces need the gooey caramelised outer layer.

two. Turn down the heat, add more oil if needed, and gently soften the garlic, ginger and chilli slices for 3-5 mins. Then add the cider vinegar and let it bubble vigorously, scraping the pan to release gooey bits for 1-2 mins. Next drop in the jelly and stir to dissolve as the bubbling continues. Next add the soy sauce. Mix well, and then return the beef to the dish. Add enough apple juice to just cover the beef. Season and stir.

three. Cover, and place into the oven for 1.5-2 hrs for chuck beef and 2.5-3hrs for shin. Stir every 45 mins or so and, if drying out, add a tiny bit of water.

Serving Suggestion. Hugh serves this with buttered spinach and noodles

Possible Amendment.