Braised Shin of Beef with Black Bean, Orange and Star Anise
Photography by Aaron McLean.
It’s hard to go past beef shin for the perfect braise. It stays moist during cooking and becomes rich and sticky with wonderful overtones from the black beans, orange zest and star anise.
Serves: 4–6
INGREDIENTS
1½ kilograms boneless beef shin (weight after bone removed, ask butcher to de-bone)
½ cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
vegetable oil for cooking
1 cup Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon black bean sauce
3 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
2 onions, sliced
5cm piece ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 whole star anise
long strips zest and juice 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup good-quality beef stock
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake.
Cut the shin into 5cm chunks and dust with the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and brown the beef in batches. Transfer to a large ovenproof casserole dish.
Mix all of the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over the beef, turning to combine. Don’t add any salt to the recipe.
Cover with a piece of baking paper then a tight fitting lid or foil. Place in the oven and braise for 2–3 hours or until very tender, turning the meat every hour. Lift the meat out with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl.
If the sauce is thin, place the casserole dish over a high heat and boil until reduced and glossy. Add the meat back to the sauce and simmer until hot.
Serve with lime wedges, hot cooked long grain rice and a bowl of cooked Asian greens.
Serving option: Combine ½ a finely chopped red onion with a thinly sliced, long red chilli and a small handful of chopped coriander.

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