Bonjour! Bonjour!
I’m still in Paris, but I’m cooking with more Asian ingredients that ever. In part, it’s propinquity (what fun to find a place to use this word) - there are three good Asian shops just minutes from my apartment. Eight minutes, to be exact. That’s how long it takes me to walk door-to-door if I don’t stop at the Maubert-Mutualité market, join the line for croissants at Maison Isabelle or get lost among the beautifully tended cheeses at Laurent Dubois. The trio of small shops that draws me in like the proverbial kid to a candy store is just past the marketplace and between them they seem to have everything anyone could possibly need to cook dishes from Cambodia to China. And everything you need to play around with dishes from anywhere else, too.
As so many of us discovered during the pandemic, the pantry is a cook’s best friend. With a stash of spices, a batterie of bottled condiments, a few different soy sauces, some oils and vinegars, and a tub of miso in the fridge, even oatmeal can taste like a new dish (I make mine with broth and top it with chili crisp). For me, one of the joys of cooking is having a spur-of-the-moment idea and being able to test it out in that moment because I’ve got the ingredients.
And that’s kind of how this stew came about. It’s a play on a play. It started as a traditionally French beef stew, a red-wine boeuf bourguignon. It became a slightly Asian-inflected stew with the addition of soy and gochujang, Korean chili paste. And then, a couple of weeks ago, I pushed it further, upping the soy, upping the gochujang, the star anise and the ginger and then adding miso to the mix. I don’t know why I hadn’t used miso in a stew before, but I’m so glad I finally came to it.
I don’t know where you are, but here in Paris, one day there’s a whiff of spring in the air and the next it’s a muffler morning. Any of these days would be good days for this surprising stew.
Burble away merrily and I’ll see you back here on Friday.
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NOT YOUR USUAL BEEF STEW
All photos by Mary Dodd
Makes 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS FOR THE MARINADE AND BEEF
1/4 cup (70 grams) white miso
1/4 cup (70 grams) gochujang paste (more or less to taste; see note below)
2 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup (80 ml) soy sauce
1 bottle (750 ml) red wine, preferably fruity but dry
5 quarter-sized slices peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 pounds (about 1 1/2 kg) beef stew meat
INGREDIENTS FOR THE STEW
1 whole star anise
Pinch of black peppercorns
Half of a short, thin cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large onion, trimmed, cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry
6 carrots, trimmed, peeled and cut into 4 pieces each
3 garlic cloves, germ removed and slivered
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and slivered
2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
Egg noodles, cooked rice or quinoa, for serving (optional)
Cilantro, parsley or Thai basil leaves (or chop the herbs), for serving (optional)
A FEW THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Gochujang paste: There are delicious gochujang sauces available, and you could use them here, but straight gochujang paste is my first choice for this dish. Heads up: Not all pastes (or sauces) are the same! Some are a lot hotter than others, so taste before you add the paste or sauce and decide just how much you think you'd like.
Miso paste: I use white – it’s what I use most often, so it’s what I always have in the fridge. But for this stew, you’d be fine with red.
Smoosh then stir: Miso paste is not an easy mixer – you’ve got to work it a bit to get it to blend with most things. And, honey’s not so easy either. I find the best way to get the marinade ready for the beef is to grab a spatula and mash the miso, gochujang and honey together before adding the liquid ingredients, ginger and garlic.
Marinating: I urge you to marinate the beef. It will tenderize the beef and also pack more flavor into it. If you don’t have time, just brown the meat and vegetables and add the marinade and all the other ingredients to the pot at the same time.
In what and where to cook the stew: I cook this slowly in a Dutch oven on top of the stove, but there are other options. You can slide it into the oven and let it simmer quietly at 350 degrees F. You can cook it in a slow cooker, following the directions you use for your favorite slow-cooker stew recipe. You can make the stew in a pressure cooker – traditional or Instant-Pot type. If you do that, I think you’ll want to tone down the spices. A sliver of cinnamon will be enough. Cut the miso to 3 tablespoons, the gochujang to 2 to 3 tablespoons and the soy to 3 to 4 tablespoons. In cooking, as in life, things have a way of intensifying under pressure.
Making a parchment cover: When I cook this in a Dutch oven, I like to make a parchment cover that goes on top of the stew before I clap the lid on the pot. It slows the evaporation of the liquids and also keeps the beef submerged. To make one, cut a parchment circle that’s about 2 inches larger than the pot’s diameter. Then cut a “fringe” around the parchment or snip the circle in a few places - you want to end up with a solid circle of parchment that’s the diameter of the pot and then an encircling fringe. You can cut the fringe pieces any width - it doesn't really matter. Lay the parchment against the liquid in the pot and let the fringe ride up the sides of the Dutch oven - they'll be your seal. When the parchment is in place, cover the pot. I love the version Mary Dodd made below - less fringe, more finial.
DIRECTIONS
TO MARINATE THE BEEF: Put the miso, gochujang and honey in a large bowl. Working with a spatula, mash the ingredients together until they’re blended and smoothish – smooth is always hard with miso. Blend in the soy sauce and then stir in the wine, the garlic and ginger. Add the beef and turn the pieces around so that they’re submerged. Cover the bowl tightly or transfer all the ingredients to a zipper-lock bag and seal it. (I like to use a bag for marinating - it takes up less space in the fridge.) Refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days, if that’s more convenient for you.
When you’re ready to cook, transfer the beef to a plate lined with paper towels, cover with more towels and pat dry. Strain the marinade into a bowl. Hold on to the liquid - you'll be cooking the beef in it - and discard the solids. If some of the solids have stuck to the meat, remove and discard them as best you can – no need to be fussy.
TO BROWN THE MEAT AND VEGETABLES: If you don't want to have to poke around for the star anise, peppercorns and cinnamon before serving, either wrap them in a bit of cheesecloth or pop them into a large tea strainer.
Warm 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the beef in batches — don’t crowd the pot — and cook, turning to brown all sides. Let each side of the beef get dark before turning it and browning another side. As the pieces brown, transfer them to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Pour off the fat from the pot and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. When it’s hot, add the onion and carrots, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, turning as needed to color the vegetables — don’t be afraid of getting a little char here and there. Add the vegetables to the beef. Lower the heat and toss in the garlic and ginger. Cook, without coloring the garlic and ginger, just until the mixture is fragrant - stir frequently and take care not to blacken the garlic and ginger. Scrape everything out of the pot and over the beef and vegetables.
Return the pot to high heat, pour in some water, bring to a boil and use the water to scrape the bottom of the pot. Discard the water and rinse the pot, if you think it needs it. (Again, no need to be fussy.)
TO COOK THE STEW: Return the beef and vegetables to the pot, stir in the 2 cups beef broth and all the remaining ingredients, including the reserved marinade and the spices. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, set the parchment circle in place, if you're using it, cover the pot and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the beef is fork-tender.
When the beef is cooked through, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a bowl. Strain the broth - you'll probably have more broth than you would with an old-fashioned stew; count yourself lucky if you do. Hold onto to that broth, discard the spices and decide what you want to do with the carrots and onions - keep them, or let them go if they've given up all their flavor or are too soft to be interesting.
Taste the broth for salt and pepper, return the meat (and vegetables, if you've got them) to the pot and reheat. (The stew can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.)
I like to serve this in wide shallow soup plates, although bowls are fine. If you’re serving rice, quinoa or noodles with the stew (I love the stew with noodles - give them a little gloss of olive oil right after they're drained), spoon it into the plates or bowls and top with the beef. Ladle over the broth and sprinkle with herbs, if using.
A note about leftover broth: As my friend Meg Zimbeck said when she made this stew over the weekend, the broth is the recipe's bonus. She used it in a grain bowl and, as I said, I like savory oatmeal, so I use some of it and some water to make the cereal. It's terrific as a base for soup and so good as the liquid for a chili type dish. Let me know what you do with your leftover broth, please!
STORING: Packed into an airtight container, leftover stew can be frozen for up to 1 month.
PLAYING AROUND: If you love the marinade and flavors of this stew as much as I do, you might want to use it - and the braising technique - in other ways. Think about swapping the beef for lamb or pork. If you can get beef, veal, lamb shank or pork cut like osso buco, get it - this is a great dish for that kind of cut. I haven't tried this with chicken, but I'm betting it could be great. Because different kinds and cuts of meat and poultry cook differently, check for doneness early and often.
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This sounds fabulous. Must make as soon as possible.
I have lost track on the number if times that I have made this delicious stew. From Everyday Dorie. Somewhere along the way I had started adding miso as well and it just keeps getting more interesting I usually serve it with egg noodles but mashed anything would be lovely I am sure ( celeriac root and potatoes my fave)
Last week I served it with one of my Scottish mothers mashes, turnip and carrot with loads of butter and grated ginger. Superb!