Asian Tomato Beef Stew

Name: Asian Tomato Beef Stew
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 500 g Fresh diced tomatoes; 800 g Beef; 5 Slices of ginger; 1 Medium onion; 1 Cinnamon stick; 2 Star anise; 2 Bay leaves; 1 tsp Salt; ½ tsp Sugar; 1 tbsp Light soy sauce; ½ tbsp Dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp Oyster sauce; 2 tbsp Ketchup; 2 tbsp Oil; 250 g Potatoes; 2 Fresh Tomatoes

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryMeatDifficultyBeginnerRating

Yields4 Servings

Prep Time10 minsCook Time2 hrsTotal Time2 hrs 10 mins

Asian Tomato Beef Stew

This Asian tomato beef stew is a favourite amongst us moms. Packed with wholesome, easy to source ingredients. It’s got a mellow taste that'll suit most kiddies, but also packed with savoury and umami flavours that we adults love. It’s basically the Asian equivalent of Italy’s “Sunday sauce”. Meaty, tomatoey, and comforting.

Beef

To get started, you'll need to choose a cut of beef that suits you and your budget. In many Asian kitchens, fattier cuts like brisket or shin of beef are chosen for that extra flavour that comes with cooking fatty meat low and slow. During the long cooking process, the fat, tendon or connective tissue breaks down and imparts unbelievably rich beefy flavours to the sauce.

However, regular stewing beef (like the ones I used in the video) will be perfectly fine too. They are usually from the shoulder of the cow with consistent marbling throughout. A tougher cut of meat that is meant to be used in long braising recipes like this this Asian Tomato Beef Stew or my Sichuan Red Braise Beef 红烧牛肉

Tomatoes

When I named this dish, I put tomato in front of beef because this stew is as much about the tomatoes as it is about the beef. I used a large quantity of fresh tomatoes as a flavour agent as well as the cooking medium. As there is no additional liquid is added, there is nothing to dilute the tomato essence. And after a couple hours of simmering, the tomatoes are transformed into an intense, robust, savoury sauce.

In season tomatoes will be ideal for this Asian Tomato Beef Stew, but even when they are not at their prime, cooking them low and slow will bring life back and make them shine.

Can you use canned tomatoes you ask? I would say not for this recipe. We are after the freshness and liquid of those fresh tomatoes and using canned would compromise that.

Pro tip: Freeze tomatoes whole is a great way to preserve fresh tomatoes for longer. Plus they'll be super easy to peel after a hot water bath straight from the freezer.

Stone pot

Now, you don’t need to use a stone pot or earthen cookware for this Asian tomato and beef stew. For me, the stone pot works well because not only does it retains heat well in a slow cooking situation, it also does a good job of preventing excess moisture from evaporating. And as we are not adding any additional liquid, it’s important to keep the tomato juices in the pot as the beef simmers and not run the risk of running out of liquid before the meat becomes tender.

So, get a heavy duty pot with a lid if you don’t have stone cookware.

Of course, Instant Pot and pressure cookers will be great too to cook this stew in. They will help cut the cooking time down significantly, although the final product might be more watery...which really is a matter of preference.

You Will Need

500 g Fresh diced tomatoes About 7-8 medium size tomatoes

800 g BeefStewing beef like chuck, shin, brisket

5 Slices of gingerDivided

1 Medium onion

1 Cinnamon stick

2 Star anise

2 Bay leaves

1 tsp SaltAdjust to taste

½ tsp Sugar

1 tbsp Light soy sauce1-2 tbsp, adjust to taste

½ tbsp Dark soy sauce

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

2 tbsp Ketchup

2 tbsp Oil

250 g PotatoesOptional

2 Fresh Tomatoes Optional

Instructions

Pour hot water over tomatoes and let them sit for a few minutes. Then peel and chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Cut ginger into slices, and onion into medium size dices.

Cut beef into chunks and blanch in water with some ginger and Chinese cooking wine. When you see that the layer of foam has stop rising to the surface, takeout the chunks of beef and rise it under water.

Into your stewing pot, add the oil, turn on the heat to medium high and add the onion and ginger. Toss it in the hot oil for a minute and add in the Ketchup, fry that for 10sec then add all the chopped tomatoes, stir to mix and cover and bring it up to a boil.

When its come up to a boil, add in the beef piece. and the spices like cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise. Then season with salt, light and dark soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cover and lower the heat to medium low and simmer for 1-1.5 hours. or until the beef is tender.

Stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

When the beef is tender, remove the cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves and add in potatoes if using. Cook for another 10-20min or until the potatoes are cooked though.

Finally, add some large diced tomatoes with the skin on if using, once the tomatoes are warmed through, it is ready to be served.

Ingredients

500 g Fresh diced tomatoes About 7-8 medium size tomatoes

800 g BeefStewing beef like chuck, shin, brisket

5 Slices of gingerDivided

1 Medium onion

1 Cinnamon stick

2 Star anise

2 Bay leaves

1 tsp SaltAdjust to taste

½ tsp Sugar

1 tbsp Light soy sauce1-2 tbsp, adjust to taste

½ tbsp Dark soy sauce

1 tbsp Oyster sauce

2 tbsp Ketchup

2 tbsp Oil

250 g PotatoesOptional

2 Fresh Tomatoes Optional

Directions

Pour hot water over tomatoes and let them sit for a few minutes. Then peel and chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Cut ginger into slices, and onion into medium size dices.

Stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

When the beef is tender, remove the cinnamon, star anise and bay leaves and add in potatoes if using. Cook for another 10-20min or until the potatoes are cooked though.

Finally, add some large diced tomatoes with the skin on if using, once the tomatoes are warmed through, it is ready to be served.

Asian Tomato Beef Stew

Ingredients Directions