Vietnamese Beef Stew

Source: 1, 2, 3

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef shank
• 1 lb carrots
• 1 lb potatoes
• 4  shallots
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 C chicken stock
• 1 stalk of lemon grass
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 star anise, toasted in microwave with a spray of canola oil for 30s
• 2 tsp Chinese five spice
• 2 tsp madras curry powder
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp of corn starch

Marinade

• 1 Tbsp diced shallots
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp minced lemongrass
• 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp madras curry powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp clove powder
• 1/4 tsp anise powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Marinate the beef overnight in the marinade, stirring with a spoon to coat evenly with the paste.
2. If cooking in the oven, pre-heat to 285°F
3. In a large pot over medium heat, brown the shallots and garlic. Scoop out and set aside.
4. Over medium heat brown the marinated beef.
5. Deglaze with chicken stock. Add in the lemon grass, 2 bay leaves, 3 star anise, 2 tsp Chinese five spice, 2 tsp madras curry powder, 2 Tbsp fish sauce, 14 oz can of tomatoes.
6. Bring to a boil then transfer to oven or slow cooker. In oven, cook for 2 hours and 15 minutes. For the slow cooker, cook for 6 hours.
7. Add in the potatoes and carrots, bring to a boil over the stove, then cook for an additional 45 minutes in the oven or 2 hours in the slow cooker.
8. Mix 1 Tbsp of corn starch with a bit of water then add to the stew to thicken.
9. Fish out the lemon grass stalks, bay leaves, and star anise. 

Notes: Made this with a 2 hour marinade, not sure if it did anything so maybe I'll try overnight or no marinade next time. Also, I didn't have fresh lemon grass so for the marinade I used the squeeze tube and in the pot I used the dried spice version. I also used 4 roma tomatoes, but it would be easier to use a can next time. Also, we wanted to try to make this with sweet potato but they got moldy so all it had was beef and carrots. Next time we will try potatoes. This was pretty delicious, will make again.