Chinese Five Spice Beef Stew
Ingredients:
2 Tbs Bacon grease
3 lbs ground beef
1 Tbs garlic minced
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 pcs star anise
3 pcs bay leaf
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp cloves
1 Tbs sea salt
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
2 Tbs Sriracha or hot sauce
2 cups potatoes diced
1 lbs frozen peas
2 cups water
1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
1. In a big dutch oven or heavy pan, brown the ground beef in bacon grease.
2. Once the meat has browned, add the garlic and onions and sautee for 4 minutes.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes, water, star anise, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, chinese 5 spice powder and 1/2 Tbs of salt.
4. Bring to boil and simmer for at least 45 minutes or until the sauce is reduced in half. The longer you simmer it, the more flavorful it gets.
5. Add the potatoes, peas and bell pepper.
6. When the potatoes are soft, check if you need to add the remaining 1/2 Tbs of salt.
7. Stir in the sriracha or hot sauce.
8. Turn off heat, remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick.
9. Serve over steamed rice or cooked rice noodles.
Enjoy!
Note: This recipe can be made with a slow cooker. After browning the meat, transfer it to a crockpot, add the remaining ingredients except for sriracha and reduce the water to just 1 cup. Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in the sriracha just before serving.
-Roz
