萝卜炖牛肉Beef Stew with Daikon and Ginger
Luóbo dùn niúròu
Grass-fed chuck pressure-braised with red wine, toasted tomato paste and a ginger-daikon backbone. A French and Chinese hybrid; the daikon goes in late so it holds together.
- Time
- 45 min hands-on, 2 h 45 total
- Makes
- servings
- Chapter
- 炖煮 Braises and simmers
- Source
- Worked out in a cooking chat, Sep 2026
- Gear
- Instant Pot
配料 Ingredients
Beef
Base
Vegetables and finish
做法 Method
Beef
Cut 2⅓ lb boneless chuck roast into 3 large chunks, or 5 cm cubes for a richer sauce. Leave the seams of connective tissue. Pat dry and season with 2 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp black pepper.
Sauté on High with 2 tbsp neutral oil. Sear in batches without crowding, about 4 minutes, then 3 on the next side. Set aside.
Base
Add 1 large onion, 3 celery stalks, 5 garlic cloves and 3 tbsp fresh ginger, scraping up the browned bits, until the onion softens.
Push the vegetables aside and fry 3 tbsp tomato paste on the bare metal until it darkens to brick, then stir it through.
Pour in 1 cup red wine and scrape the bottom until bare. Simmer until reduced by a third and no longer sharp with alcohol.
Pressure cook
Turn off Sauté. Return the beef in a single layer with its juices, then add 3 cups beef stock, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried thyme. Liquid about two-thirds up the beef.
Seal and cook on High pressure. Cubes take 35 minutes; 3 whole chunks take 50.
Let the pressure release naturally. Venting early squeezes moisture out of lean grass-fed beef.
Vegetables
Nestle in 1 lb daikon and 4 carrots. Seal, cook on High, then quick release at once.
For whole chunks, pull the beef into rough pieces with tongs.
Finish
Fish out the bay leaves. Reduce on Sauté first if the sauce is thin, then stir in 2 tbsp cornstarch whisked into 3 tbsp cold water and simmer until it coats a spoon.
Salt to taste; it will need more than you expect. Scatter 3 tbsp scallions or parsley and serve.
笔记 Notes
From cooking it
- I braised 3 whole chunks instead of cubes, in one layer. 50 minutes plus a full natural release, and the sauce came out thinner, so reduce harder before thickening.
- Start to finish with whole chunks is 2½ to 3 hours, only about 45 minutes of it hands-on. Coming to pressure and the natural release add nearly an hour.
Tips
- Almost every BURN warning traces back to the deglaze. Scrape until the metal is bare.
- Better on day two; the fat cap lifts off cold. For a more Chinese lean, swap half the wine for Shaoxing and add a star anise.