Slow Cooker Spicy Basil Beef Ox Tail and Tendon Stew (燉辣紫蘇牛筋牛尾, Dan6 Laat6 Zi2 Sou1 Ngau4 Gan1 Ngau4 Mei5)

While this recipe would seem to be more appropriate during the winter, it is still tasty when cooked during the spring, especially when you use a slow cooker (i.e. crockpot) to make the dish. Fresh lotus root is preferable, but pre-cut frozen lotus root makes a good substitute when fresh is not available (and then even the frozen lotus root slices can sometimes be hard to find). If lotus root cannot be found, daikon makes a good substitute.

Beef oxtail and beef tendon go together to make a classic Chinese stew. Chee Hou sauce is an important ingredient to making this dish. Chee Hou sauce is a prepared sauce and is similar in taste to hoisin sauce (which can be substituted if you can’t find it at your local Asian market) and has a slightly spicier taste to it. The real spiciness for this dish comes from the addition of Japanese chilies. Japanese chilies have some heat to them, but are more flavorful spicy than hot and can be found at your local Mexican market. The Japanese chilies are stir fried before being added to the slow cooker.

Beef oxtails are readily available at most markets. Removing the outer fat layer from the oxtails is an important step to producing an almost fat free sauce. Use a sharp knife to remove the outer fat layer before cooking. Beef tendon is another part of the cow available at Asian markets either whole or already cut into pieces. It’s a texture ingredient that produces a great mouth feel when eaten. Uncooked, it’s tough and hard to cut, cooked long and slow, and it becomes soft. There’s really no substitute for this ingredient, so if you can’t find it, it can be omitted, but the stew won’t be the same.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1½ lb.	750 g.	Beef tendon (牛筋, ngau4 gan1)
3 lb.	1.5 kg.	Beef oxtails (牛尾, ngau4 mei5)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), lightly crushed
2	2	Whole garlic cloves (蒜, syun3), lightly crushed
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
		Water to parboil the beef tendon and oxtails
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Koon Chun Sauce Factory Brand Chee Hou Sauce (柱候酱, cyu5 hau6 zoeng3) or equivalent, divided use
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry, divided use
1 lb.	500 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces on the diagonal
1 lb.	500 g.	Lotus root (蓮藕, lin4 ngau5), cut into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces
12	12	Dried whole Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
		Oil for cooking
10-20	10-20	Dried Japanese chilies (日本指天椒, jat6 bun2 zi2 tin1 ziu1)
1 cup	250 ml.	Fresh basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)

Sauce Ingredients

2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), lightly crushed
2 slices	2 slices	Ginger (薑, goeng1), lightly crushed
1	1	Dried tangerine peel (陳皮, can4 pei4)
4 whole	4 whole	Star anise (八角, baat3 gok3)
1 stick	1 stick	Cassia bark (桂皮, gwai3 pei4) or cinnamon
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Dark soy sauce (老抽, lou5 cau1)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
½ cup	125 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid, water, or stock to cover the ingredients in the slow cooker

Equipment

8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot to parboil the beef tendon and oxtail
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan
3.5 in.	9 cm.	Soak-out cooker to hold the spices in the slow cooker
6.5 qt.	6 L.	Slow cooker (crock pot) to cook the stew
		Chinese cleaver

Preparation Instructions

Koon Chun Sauce Factory Brand
Chee Hou Sauce (柱候酱, cyu5 hau6 zoeng3)

1. Wash and remove any excess fat from the beef oxtails and tendon. Place the beef oxtails and tendon, crushed ginger and garlic, and Shaoxing wine or dry sherry into a pot and cover with cold water. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil over high heat covered, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat, uncover, and discard the liquid, garlic, and ginger from the pot. Wash the beef oxtails and tendon under cold water removing any remaining scum from the beef. Dry the beef oxtails and tendon in a paper towel. Parboiling the beef will result in a clear sauce.
2. If using whole beef tendons, cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. The beef tendon can be hard to cut, so a sharp heavy knife (like a Chinese cleaver) is a necessary tool.
3. The steps above can be done one day before cooking the dish. Store the beef oxtails and tendon in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight. Take the beef out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
4. Pour boiling water over the small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
5. Wash and cut the carrots into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) quarter-cut pieces. Cut the carrots on the diagonal and turn the carrot a quarter-turn. Repeat the diagonal cut and quarter-turn steps until the entire carrot is cut into pieces.
6. Wash and cut the lotus root into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces. When buying lotus root, buy whole lotus roots that are not broken exposing the inner holes of the root. Once the inner holes of the lotus root are exposed oxygen, the holes oxidize (blacken) and become unappetizing. If fresh lotus root is not available at your local Asian market, pre-cut frozen can be substituted.
7. Wash and remove the leaves from the fresh basil stalks.
8. Prepare the sauce in a small bowl: thoroughly mix together the tapioca starch, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry. Put the contents into the slow cooker.
9. Put the spices into the soak-out cooker: crushed garlic and ginger, tangerine peel, star anise, and cassia bark or cinnamon stick. Place the soak-out cooker into the bottom of the slow cooker.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the beef oxtails and Japanese chilies in small batches. Brown the beef oxtails and Japanese chilies before adding Koon Chun Sauce Factory Brand Chee Hou Sauce, or equivalent, and when the beef is browned deglaze the wok with Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry. Put the browned beef and chilies, and any remaining liquid, into the slow cooker. Repeat this step until all the beef oxtails and Japanese chilies are browned and placed into the slow cooker.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then all the beef tendon. Brown the beef tendon before adding Koon Chun Sauce Factory Brand Chee Hou Sauce, or equivalent, and when the beef is browned deglaze the wok with Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry. Put the browned beef tendon and any remaining liquid into the slow cooker.
3. Reheat the wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then add the contents of the wok to the slow cooker.
4. Reheat the wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the carrots. Stir fry the carrots until browned and add Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry to deglaze the wok. Add the contents of the wok to the slow cooker.
5. Reheat the wok or pan over high heat before adding oil and then the lotus root. Stir fry the lotus root until browned and add Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry to deglaze the wok. Add the contents of the wok to the slow cooker.
6. Put the sauce into the slow cooker and then add the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid, water, or stock until the beef ingredients are covered. Shake the slow cooker container to mix the liquid with the tapioca starch slurry.
7. Cover the slow cooker and cook the contents on the low setting for up to 8 hours. At the end of the cooking time, remove and discard the contents of the soak-out cooker, remove any excess fat from the top of the stew, mix in the basil leaves, and then transfer the contents to a serving bowl. Serve with Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶), steamed rice, or noodles.