Twenty Years of Experience from a Hebei Teacher's Private Soy Sauce Braised Beef - The Secret to the Fragrance Lies in the Spice Treatment
Beef is undoubtedly a widely loved ingredient, and in braising, the soy sauce braising style is particularly favored by those who enjoy rich and fragrant flavors. Today, we're introducing a soy sauce braised beef that combines these two beloved elements. For those who love spices, the attention to detail in the preparation by this teacher from Hebei is definitely worth learning from.
Let's start with the spice combination. Since we used yellow soybean paste, we selected star anise, which Xiao Ming discussed in detail in his previous two articles. After selecting star anise, cloves retreated as an auxiliary ingredient, while fennel served as a supporting ingredient to balance the richness of the fragrance. For the meat flavor, we chose dried tangerine peel + Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and nutmeg to enhance freshness and promote a tender texture. Cardamom + ginger were added to harmonize the oiliness while bringing out the fragrance. White pepper was added to enhance the diversity of the fragrance, thereby better achieving a layered fragrance effect.
In terms of spice pre-treatment, this private soy sauce braised beef is also very thoughtful. Cardamom must be cracked and cleaned before being soaked together with Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers for half an hour, which not only can remove bitterness but also enhance the fragrance. Cloves, saffron, white pepper, and white pepper were pre-soaked in warm water for half an hour to eliminate odors and promote fragrance release. Nutmeg was freshly fried in a pot without oil after being crushed, which could improve the fragrance release efficiency, and the fragrance was also more mellow. Such pre-treatment is particularly noticeable in small-pot braising and soy sauce braising.
The specific production process is as follows: Start with 25 grams of vegetable oil, fry yellow soybean paste (100 grams) until fragrant and remove moisture – then add 4.5 kilograms of water and stir until evenly mixed – then add a bottom soup of 1.5 kilograms (the bottom soup can be made by simmering chicken bones) – add the spices that have been pre-treated, wrapped in muslin (the spice bag contains 8g star anise, 4 cloves, 4g ginger, 4 Sichuan peppercorns, 4 white peppers, 1g dried tangerine peel, 1 cardamom, 1 nutmeg, 1g fennel, 2 dried chili peppers, 2g saffron, white pepper) – add 7 grams of sugar, 8 grams of rice wine, and 36 grams of salt, bring to a boil over high heat – simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes, and it is ready – these quantities can be used with 4-5 kilograms of beef, cooking over low heat until almost cooked, then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it rest for a night before eating.
