This Chinese beef stew is hearty, deeply flavorful, and very nostalgic. Loaded with tender beef, sweet daikon, bean curd, and Chinese mushrooms, it is the perfect comforting meal when eaten with hot rice.
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This Chinese beef stew was inspired by the stew my mum would often make when I was a kid. The fragrant smell of it simmering on the stove signaled a tasty dinner that night and I just loved devouring it over some hot steamed rice. Super delicious, super comforting, it's a dish you have to try!
Ingredients
- Beef shank (see Recipe Notes for other suitable cuts)
- Daikon radish
- Dried bean curd sticks
- Dried Chinese/shiitake mushrooms
- Oyster sauce
- Light soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce
- Chinese cooking wine
- Five-spice powder
- Salt
- Ginger
- White pepper
- Tapioca starch (for thickening slurry)
Instructions
Food Preparation
Cut the beef into large chunks. Peel the daikon and cut into large chunks.
Soak the dried bean curd sticks in room temperature water for at least 6 hours (or overnight), until they have complete softened. Cut the softened bean curd sticks into pieces about 2-inches long.
Soak the dried Chinese mushrooms in 3 cups of water for at least 6 hours, until they are plump and rehydrated. Remove the mushrooms from the water and cut off any stiff stems. Do not discard the mushroom soaking water.
Cooking the Stew
Place the beef in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Heat the pot over medium-high heat to bring to a rolling boil.
Boil the meat for about 2 minutes and use a skimmer to remove any scum that floats to the surface of the water.
Pro Tip: If you don't have a skimmer, just use a wide shallow spoon to remove the scum from the water.
Transfer the meat to a clean pot. Add the daikon, mushrooms, and sliced ginger.
In a bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, salt, white pepper, and 5-spice powder. Add the sauce to the pot.
Measure out 2 cups of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid and pour it into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
Press the ingredients down with the back of a spoon so that most of it is in the liquid. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hour or until the beef is fork-tender.
Uncover the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the bean curd to the pot and mix in with the other ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes.
Combine the tapioca starch with water and stir well. Pour into the pot and stir to thicken the sauce into a gravy.
Slow Cooker Instructions are in the recipe card below.
Commonly Asked Questions
What other cuts of beef can I use? I used shank for this recipe which has a nice combination of meat and collagen, making for very tender chunks of beef. Other cuts that would be suitable are veal, chuck roast, tri-tip, or beef cheek. Oxtail also makes a very delicious and rich stew!
Why boil the meat first? This is a common practice for Chinese style stews or braised meats. Blanching the meat first allows the blood and impurities to cook out and be removed.
Can I add carrots? Yes! Add the carrots to the pot at the same time as the daikon.
What if I accidentally throw out the mushroom water? The mushroom water adds more flavor to the stew, but you can use water, too.
Can this be cooked in a slow cooker? Yes! Follow the same first steps to boil the beef, skim off the scum and remove it from the water. Then place all the ingredients EXCEPT for the bean curd and tapioca starch into the rice cooker; cook for 4-6 hours on High, 6-8 on Low. Add the bean curd for the last 5 minutes of cooking in the pot. Add the tapioca starch and water/thickening slurry at the very end before serving. Full instructions in the Recipe Card below.
Can this be cooked in an Instant Pot? While I do not have an Instant Pot/pressure cooker, I am sure the stew can be cooked in one in a reduced amount of time. Refer to your appliance manual for guidance on cooking time for stews.
More Nostalgic Chinese Dishes You Might Like
These dishes were all inspired by my childhood and what my mum would make. Give them a try!
- Black Bean Garlic Pork Belly Stir-fry
- Steamed Egg and Minced Pork Patty
- Crispy Chow Mein Noodles
- Rice Cooker Chinese Sticky Rice
- BBQ Pork Chow Mein
- Chinese Poached Black Cod
- Buddha's Delight (Jai)
- Lazy Cantonese Sticky Rice (Joong)
- Chinese Taro Cake (Woo Tau Goh)
- Chinese Rice Puddings (Boot Jai Goh)
- Crispy Roast Pork Belly (Siu Yuk)
- Gluten-Free Chinese Almond Cookies
As with many recipes, there are different versions of this type of Chinese beef stew, but this is the one that reminds me of what my Mom used to make. It's flavorful and hearty and super comforting when eaten with hot rice. Every spoonful for me is filled with nostalgia
~ Lisa.
Recipe
Chinese Beef Stew with Daikon
Ingredients
- 700 grams beef shank
- 300 grams daikon
- 8 medium sized dried Chinese mushrooms (dried shiitake mushrooms)
- 4 full dried bean curd sticks
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
- ¾ teaspoon 5-spice powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 6 slices peeled ginger
Gravy thickening slurry:
- 1 ½ tablespoons tapioca starch (cornstarch okay)
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Soak the dried bean curd sticks in room temperature water for at least 6 hours (or overnight), until they have complete softened. Cut the softened bean curd sticks into pieces about 2-inches long.
- Soak the dried Chinese mushrooms in 3 cups of water for at least 6 hours, until they are plump and rehydrated. Remove the mushrooms from the water and cut off any stiff stems. Do not discard the mushroom soaking water.
Stovetop Instructions:
- Place the beef in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Heat the pot over medium-high heat to bring to a rolling boil.
- Boil the meat for about 2 minutes and use a skimmer to remove any scum that floats to the surface of the water. (If you don't have a skimmer, use a wide, shallow spoon.) Transfer the meat to a clean pot and discard the water.
- Add the daikon, mushrooms, and sliced ginger to the beef.
- In a bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, salt, white pepper, and 5-spice powder. Add the sauce to the pot.
- Measure out 2 cups of the reserved mushroom soaking liquid and pour it into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Press the ingredients down with the back of a spoon so that most of it is in the liquid. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hour or until the beef is fork-tender.
- Uncover the pot and increase the heat to medium-high. Add the bean curd to the pot and mix in with the other ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Combine the tapioca starch with water and stir well. Pour into the pot and stir to thicken the sauce into a gravy.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Follow the same first steps to boil the beef, skim off the scum and remove it from the water.
- Place the beef, daikon, mushrooms, and ginger slices into the slow cooker.
- Mix together the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, salt, white pepper, and 5-spice powder and add it to the slow cooker. Mix with the ingredient.
- Cook for 4-6 hours on High, 6-8 on Low.
- Add the bean curd for the last 5 minutes of cooking in the pot. Add the tapioca starch and water/thickening slurry at the very end before serving.
Notes
- I used shank for this recipe which has a nice combination of meat and collagen, making for very tender chunks of beef.
- Other cuts that would be suitable are veal, chuck roast, tri-tip, or beef cheek. Oxtail also makes a very delicious and rich stew!
- Blanching the meat first allows the blood and impurities to cook out and be removed.
- If you'd like to add carrots to the stew, add them at the same time as the daikon.
- The mushroom water adds more flavor to the stew, but if you accidentally pour it out, you can just use water.
- While I do not have an Instant Pot/pressure cooker, I am sure the stew can be cooked in one in a reduced amount of time. Refer to your appliance manual for guidance on cooking time for stews.
- This recipe was inspired by my mom's beef stew recipe and adapted from, but not limited to, Woks of Life's Chinese Beef Stew with Bean Curd Sticks, Red House Spice's Braised Beef with Daikon and more.
Thanks for stopping by! If you make this dish or any of my other recipes, I would love it if you could take the time to comment and rate it below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
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