3 Different Beef Brisket Soup Recipes 牛腩汤

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Beef brisket soup is the Chinese's best way of cooking brisket, a tough beef cut.

Beef brisket
Image source: cookbookman17 at flickr

Beef brisket is ideal for the grill or barbeque. Usually the whole slab is slowly grilled or barbequed and then sliced cross-grained before serving.

The Chinese, however, loves to slowly cook it in soup with fragrant spices. Slow cooking breaks the muscle tissues down and it can become so soft that it falls apart. More importantly, the meat absorbs the fragrance of the spices.

What is beef brisket?

It comes from the breast section of the cow. It has long connective muscle tissues which is why it is one of the tough cuts. It is a relatively easy cut to prepare as it isn't close to any bones or contain sinew. Trim off any excess fat if you are concerned otherwise, just leave it as it is.

Beef Brisket Recipes

Here are 2 beef brisket soup recipes slowly cooked in a slow cooker.

Recipe 1: Beef brisket soup with tomato 番茄牛腩汤

This recipe does not feature any strong herbs or spices. The coriander leaves and ginger imparts a heady Chinese note. Let time and low heat do the rest. Beside the beef brisket cut, the flank, plate and skirt cuts can also be used in this soup recipe.

Ingredients

  • 600g beef brisket
  • 4 fresh tomatoes
  • 1 stalk fresh coriander
  • 2 pieces ginger
  • 1 tbsp cooking wine
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch solution

Directions

  1. Cut the beef brisket into small cubes
  2. Parboil the meat for about 2 minutes
  3. Remove and rinse away any blood or froth
  4. Place the beef, ginger and cooking wine into a slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the ingredients and account for liquid reduction during simmering
  5. Simmer the beef in the slow cooker on low setting
  6. Score the tomato skin, blanch in hot water and remove the curled skin
  7. Simmer the beef till the meat is tender and then add the tomato and salt
  8. Cook till the tomato is soft
  9. Add the cornstarch solution to thicken the soup slightly (optional)
  10. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve

Recipe 2: Beef brisket stew with apple and orange

This is a hearty beef stew with the sweetness of apples and tanginess of fresh oranges. The fruits are added much later in the cooking process to avoid overcooking them.

Using fruits with beef balances the richness of the meat. Like the Chinese would say -- more harmonizing.

Ingredients

  • 600g beef brisket
  • 2 apples
  • 2 oranes
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 big tomato
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk coriander
  • 2 pieces of ginger
  • 2 litres water
  • 1 tbsp cooking wine
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 2 tbsp constarch

Directions

  1. Cut the beef brisket into small cubes
  2. Parboil the cubes in water, remove and rinse
  3. Place the beef cubes into a slow cooker and add the 2 litres of water
  4. Use the high setting to bring the water to a boil
  5. Set to low to slowly simmer and cook for 3 hours or till beef is tender
  6. Peel the apples, potatoes, tomatoes, carrot and oranges
  7. Remove all the seeds
  8. Cut into small cubes and add to the stew
  9. Add the cooking wine and ginger
  10. When the beef and fruits are soft, add the salt
  11. Remove the ginger pieces
  12. Thicken the stew with some cornstarch solution or arrowroot powder

Recipe 3: Beef brisket soup with radish

Use an instant pot or pressure cooker to make this dish. It will shorten the cooking time tremendously. 

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg beef brisket
  • 1 big daikon radish
  • 2 star anises
  • 4 slices ginger
  • Cooking wine
  • Salt and white ground pepper
  • 2 stalks of spring onion
Instructions
  1. Cut the beef brisket into 5cm cubes
  2. Place the cubes into a big soup pot, add sufficient water to cover and parboil the beef cubes. Remove and rinse 
  3. Wash the spring onion and cut into half
  4. Place the parboiled beef cubes into a big soup pot, add sufficient water to cover. Bring to a boil
  5. Add the spring onion, ginger and a cup of cooking wine, and star anises
  6. Bring everything back to a boil before lowering the heat and simmer for around 40 to 50 minutes
  7. In the meantime, peel the radish and cut into bite-sized pieces
  8. Add to the pot and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the radish is soft. 
  9. Add salt to taste before serving

Happy Souping, Phoebe