Braised Beef Shank in Sichuan Dressing
Make the most of a cheaper beef cut with beautifully slow braised beef shack in Sichuan dressing. The sauce is nutty from sesame oil with a kick of chilli oil.
Introduction
This is one of those dishes where beef shank, a cheap cut of meat that is full of muscle, is transformed into an elegant, tasty dish. I cook it slowly for hours until tender in a rich braising liquid. Once cooked, it is left to cool and then sliced, dressed and garnished. This makes a great cold starter, perfect for entertaining as it can be made hours ahead.
Ingredients
| 300g (11oz) | piece of braising beef (shank or shin) |
| For the braising sauce: | |
| 500ml (17fl oz) | water |
| 2.5cm (1in) | piece fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced |
| 2 tbsp | Shaoxing rice wine (or dry sherry) |
| 1 tsp | Chinese five-spice powder |
| 1 tsp | Sichuan peppercorns |
| 3 | pieces of dried tangerine peel |
| 1 tbsp | dark soy sauce |
| 3 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 20g (¾ oz) | Chinese rock sugar (or 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar) |
| 3 tsp | caster sugar |
| ½ tsp | sea salt |
| For the Sichuan dressing: | |
| 2 tsp | chilli oil |
| ¼ tsp | toasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns |
| 1 tbsp | Chinese clear (plain) rice vinegar (or cider vinegar) |
| 2 tbsp | braising liquid |
| 1 tbsp | toasted sesame oil |
| For the garnish: | |
| toasted white sesame seeds | |
| 1 | spring onion, finely chopped |
Method
Slicing along the grain, cut the beef into four rectangular chunks. Blanch it in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes and remove any scum. Rinse the beef, place it in a pot with all the ingredients for the braising sauce and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer on a low heat for 3 hours until the beef is tender and juicy. Remove and leave to cool, then keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the braising liquid for the dressing. (You can combine the remainder with stock to make a delicious broth for soup noodles.)
Combine all the ingredients for the Sichuan dressing in a bowl and put to one side.
To serve, shred the beef and place on a serving plate. Drizzle with the Sichuan dressing, then sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and spring onion on top and serve immediately.
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