Beef Shank and Tendon Stew with Daikon

中文：牛筋牛腱萝卜煲

When it gets cold, I love to serve hot and bubbling dishes.  This beef shank and tendon stew with daikon is very comforting and appetizing in cold weather like now. 

Ingredients for beef stock：

2 large pieces of beef shank
4 to 5 large pieces of beef tendon
1 piece of ginger root
1 black cardamom pot
2 to 3 star anises
4 to 6 dry chile peppers, snapped or cut into pieces
2 to 3 bay leaves
3 to 4 cloves
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 pieces of dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices
1 small piece of cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns

For the beef stew (I use only half of the soup made from ingredients listed above):

1 large daikon, peeled and cut into cubes
3 to 6 fresh red chile peppers, coarsely chopped
2 to 3 gloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small piece of ginger root, sliced
2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1/4 to 1/2 cup of soy sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
salt to taste

Directions：

Fill a 6 quart pot  with cold water, add beef tendon and shank.  Heat over high heat until the whole pot comes to boil.  Allow it continue to cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain and rinse the beef tendon and shank under running water.

Gather the spices for soup on a piece of coffee filter paper

Tie it up

Add beef tendon, shank, spice bag, ginger root, bay leaves and water to instant pot

Set it to cook under high pressure for 50 minutes.

The stock is done, fast and quick. 

With a sharp knife, cut beef tendon and shank into walnut sized pieces. 

The whole plate of meat is way too much for two of us.  So it use half of it, and save the extra meat for later use. 

Heat a wok over high heat; add oil, and then garlic, ginger, red chile peppers and Sichuan peppercorns;   sauté for half to a minute. 

Add beef tendon and shank cubes along with oyster sauce and rice cooking wine.  Sit fry over high heat until the liquid evaporates. It takes about 5 to 8 minutes. 

Add beef stock and daiko 

When it boils again, transfer the stew to a tagine pot.  I use a Le Creuset enameled cast iron 2 quart tagine pot .  Love it very much.

Simmer over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minute

Serve hot immediately.

During the cold winter, I love to a Staub fondue universal base  to keep stews or soups hot.  It doesn’t just look pretty but also very functional too.

Light the fire gel  up with a multipurpose lighter

Time to enjoy! O(∩_∩)O~

BBQ Skewed Beef with Peppers and Cumin

 中文菜谱：孜然烤牛肉串

When talking about the wonderful things in summer?  What comes to your mind first?  Ice cream?  Red juicy water melon?  One of the most wonderful things to do in summer, of course, is BBQ! 

My husband is in charge of most of BBQ work.  But when it comes to BBQ skewed meat or kebabs, it is my specialty! O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients：

2 pounds chuckeye roast beef
6 to 8 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 teaspoon ground white pepper  
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2  to 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons egg white
1 teaspoon crushed red chili peppers
1/2 medium onion, cut into small chucks or slice it
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
salt to taste
2 to 4 tablespoon water
oil for BBQ
2 to 4 tablespoons crushed red chili peppers   (for topping)
2  to 4 tablespoons cumin seeds  (for topping)

Directions：

Cut the beef into 1 by 2 inches cubes.  Add the beef along with soy sauce, rice cooking wine, white ground pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, dried ginger powder, egg white, onion, sesame oil, crushed chili peppers and salt.  Mix all of them together while slowly adding the water little by little. 

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Take the beef out of fridge 20 before BBQ to warm up to room temperature.

Skew the beef with bamboo skewers  or stainless steel skewers .

Preheat the grill 400F/ 206C.

Spray or brush the grill with oil.  Also spray or brush the skewed beef with oil too.

Add the beef to the grill. 

When the downside is light golden brown, flip them over.

Brush or spray with a little bit more oil. 

Rotate the beef occasionally to cook them more evenly. 

With a coffee/spice grinder, grind the crushed chili peppers and cumin seeds separately.

Sprinkle the beef with ground chili peppe

And then sprinkle with ground cumin

Serve immediately.  I like to serve BBQ meat on a large round slate board

Now it is time to eat!  With a glass of wine in hand, BBQ skewed beef in the other, there is nothing more I can ask for this wonderful moment… O(∩_∩)O~ 

Fire Grilled Sizzling T-bone Steak

中文菜谱： 铁板T-bone牛排

The weather in Michigan is finally nice and sunny.  You know what that means?  Of course it is BBQ time! O(∩_∩)O~ 

We do fire grilled sizzling T-bone this time.  The steak is tender and juicy, just the way I like it.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh T-bone steaks
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I usually season my steaks with sea salt and pepper only, because I think it is the best way to taste the great beef steak flavors.

Take the T-bone steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.  

Actually after I take them out of the fridge, I decide they are too big for a dinner for two people.  So I grill one piece at a time.

Season both sides with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper using a pepper grinder.

Preheat the grill to 500F / 260 C.  Preheat the cast iron sizzling platters together in the grill.

Grill for 2 to 3 minutes.

It sears really fast under high temperature.  That is how we get these pretty grill marks.

Flip the steaks and grill the other side for 2 to 3 minutes depending how you like your steaks.

Ahhhh, fire grilled steaks!  That is what I am talking about! O(∩_∩)O~

I don’t know about you, but I start drooling at this point.

Transfer the steaks to cast iron sizzling platters.

Serve immediately.  The sizzling sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world!

Because the sizzling plate is super hot too.  It will continue to cook the steak in front of you.  So be careful not to overcook your steak on the grill.  Otherwise, the medium rare you are hoping for may turn into well-done. 

Fire Grilled Sizzling Ribeye Steaks

中文菜谱： 铁板牛排

Ribeye steak is one of our favorite meats.  When the weather is warm and nice, we love to make our own fire grilled sizzling ribeye steaks in the backyard.

Ingredients：

2 pieces fresh ribeye steaks
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I usually season my steaks with sea salt and pepper only, because I think it is the best way to taste the great beef steak flavors.

Take the ribeye steaks out of the refrigiator 20 minutes ahead of time to allow them warm up a little bit to room temperature.

Season both sides with generous amount of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper using a pepper grinder.

Preheat the grill to 500F / 260 C.  Preheat the cast iron sizzling platters together in the grill.

Grill for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

It sears really fast under high temperature.  That is how we get these pretty grill marks.

Flip the steaks and grill the other side for 1 to 2 minutes depending how you like your steaks.

Ahhhh, fire grilled steaks!  That is what I am talking about! O(∩_∩)O~

I don’t know about you, but I start drooling at this point.

Transfer the steaks to cast iron sizzling platters.

Serve immediately.  The sizzling sound is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world!

 After the wonderful steaks and wine, I serve homemade dark chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce which is also made from scratch too! O(∩_∩)O~

Now the meal is the complete! O(∩_∩)O~

Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Shank and Tendon

中文： 清汤牛肉牛筋面

I enjoy making all kinds of soup from scratch at home.  They are great right off the stove.  Sometimes I use them as the soup base for Asian hot pot.  Most times I use them to use noodle soup and rice noodle soup.

The picture above is beef rice noodle soup.  And the picture below is beef noodle soup.  Can you tell the difference? O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients for beef soup:

2 to 3 pounds of beef shank
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of beef tendon
2 to 3 star anises
2 to 3 tablespoon rice cooking wine
1 small piece of ginger root, smashed with knife
4 to 5 dried chili peppers , cut into small pieces
8 to 10 black peppercorns
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 black cardamom pot
2 to 3 cloves
1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
2 to 3 pieces of dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4teaspoon ground white pepper
chopped cilantro
a few drops of sesame oil
chili oil sauce
water for stewing
salt to taste

Ingredients for noodle：

1 cup of bread flour
1/4 cup of water
a pinch of salt

Directions：

Soak both beef tendon and shank in cold water for at least an hour.  Change the water twice in between.

Here are the spices for beef soup: star anises, dried peppers, black peppercorns, dried rhizome/ dried ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, black cardamom pot, bay leaves and cloves.  Wrap them with a piece of coffee filter paper.

Tie it up

In a 5.75 quart Staub cast iron pot, add water, beef tendon and shank, rice cooking wine, spice bag and ginger root.

Heat the cast iron pot over high heat.  When the soup comes to boil, remove the white gray bubbles on the top with a spoon.

Cover with lid and reduce to simmer for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Beef tendon might need longer time to cook.

In the last 15 minutes cooking, add salt, sugar and ground white pepper to taste.

Now we have a pot of wonderful beef soup.

When the soup is being stewed, I make the noodle.

In a medium bowl, add bread flour, water and salt.  Whisk with a pair of chopsticks or a wood spoon.  When everything starts to come together, transfer the dough to a dusted wooden board. 

Knead with hands until the dough is smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Flatten the ball of dough with a large rolling pin.  And then feed it through the pasta roller for KitchenAid stand mixer for several times.  At the one last time, set the thickness to 3.

Remove the roller, and put on the spaghetti cutter. 

Run the thin dough sheet through pasta cutter.

I do enjoy this moment.

What to do next is pretty easy and simple because most of the hard work is done by now.

Cook the fresh noodle in a large pot of boiling water for 30 to 45 seconds.  Drain well and add it a medium bowl, along with beef soup, sliced beef shank and tendon, a couple teaspoons of chili oil sauce, chopped cilantro and sesame oil.

The beef tendon and shank are sliced hot so they are kind of impossible to slice thinly.

The next morning, I made another bowl of beef rice noodle soup exactly the same way.  I allow the beef shank and tenon to completely chill in the refrigerator before slicing them.  Now they look much better in the soup. O(∩_∩)O~

Time to enjoy!