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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
2 hours
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for French-style Beef Stew Serves 4
Beef brisket 1 kg (with a lot of marbling) Bay leaves 3 leaves Tomato sauce 1 can (about 227g) Red wine 200 ml Butter 40 gr Tomatoes 4 pieces Onion 1/2 bulb Shallots 2 bulbs Garlic 1 bulb Green onions a little Cilantro a little Five-spice powder 1 teaspoon Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1/2 teaspoon Seasoning a little (salt/pepper/seasoning powder/sugar)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh beef
- For this dish, you should choose cuts of beef with a lot of connective tissue and fat to help make the dish more tender and flavorful.
- You should prioritize selecting beef that is bright red with white marbling and fat that is a bright yellow. If you gently press on the beef, it should have a good firmness and elasticity, not feel sticky, and have no unpleasant or unusual odor.
- Additionally, you should choose pieces of beef that are tender, small, and not too smooth. In fact, if you can find veal, it is even better, or you should choose female beef as it is tastier than male beef.
- Conversely, you should avoid buying beef that is pale green or dark red, with dark yellow fat, white spots on the meat, and feels mushy or slimy when touched.
How to choose fresh tomatoes
- You should choose tomatoes with bright red, evenly colored skin. Intact skin with no scratches and plumpness indicates fresh tomatoes.
- Naturally ripened tomatoes usually have a mild fragrance that is easily noticeable. In contrast, tomatoes that have been artificially ripened have no aroma at all.
- You should choose tomatoes that still have their stems attached, with the stems looking fresh and not wilted. Ripe tomatoes often have stems tightly attached to the fruit, so when buying, you can gently tug on the stem to see if it comes off easily. If it doesn’t, you can go ahead and purchase it.
How to distinguish between types of onions
- Yellow onion (hành tây vỏ vàng): Characterized by a strong flavor and high sugar content, making it suitable for all dishes and cooking methods.
- Sweet onion (hành tây ngọt): Shaped like yellow onions but with thicker layers and an orange tint, suitable for grilling and frying dishes.
- White onion (hành tây vỏ trắng): This type has high water content, giving it a crisp texture. It has a moderate sweetness and is commonly used in Mexican cuisine like Chilaquiles, Tacos,…
- Red onion (hành tây tím): Usually has a mild flavor, not too pungent, making it ideal for salads, hamburgers, and sandwiches.
- Shallot (hành tây hương): Looks like a garlic clove but has a brownish-yellow skin and a distinctive aroma, with a mild sweetness. This type is often used in egg dishes, fried shallots, dipping sauces, and garnishing dishes.
For this dish, you should choose the common yellow onion available at markets and supermarkets!
How to prepare French-style Beef Stew
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Prepare the beef
After purchasing the beef, use a cloth to thoroughly absorb the blood on the piece of beef.
Once the beef has been prepared, use a knife to cut the beef into square pieces about 3cm so that when simmered, the meat will become tender and be of an appropriate size, not too small.
How to clean and deodorize beefTo avoid losing the beef’s quality, you can use a clean damp cloth to wipe the beef piece once or eliminate the odor by roasting a piece of ginger until cooked, then smashing it and rubbing it on the surface of the meat before rinsing with clean water and letting it drain in a basket.
See details: How to clean and deodorize beef
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Marinate the beef
You put the chopped beef into a bowl, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of five-spice powder, 1/2 teaspoon of fish sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, then mix well until the spices evenly coat the beef.
Continue to add 3 tablespoons of red wine (about 50ml) to the bowl, mix well, and cover the beef with plastic wrap to marinate for at least 2 hours.
Tip: To enhance the flavor, you should marinate the beef in the evening and place it in the refrigerator overnight so that the beef absorbs the spices better.
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Prepare the side ingredients
Wash the green onions and cilantro to remove dirt, then drain and chop them finely.
Peel the shallots, wash them with water to remove any dirt, then chop them finely.
Take 4 cloves of garlic, crush them and peel, then mince together with the chopped shallots. Keep the remaining whole garlic cloves to prepare for simmering with the beef.
Peel the onion and then use a knife to dice it into small cubes.
Finally, wash the tomatoes, remove the stems, and also dice all 4 tomatoes.
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Stir-fry the beef with ingredients
You place a pot on the stove, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, then turn on high heat. When the oil is hot, add minced onion and garlic to sauté until fragrant.
When the shallots and garlic become aromatic, add the chopped onion and continue to stir-fry until the onion is fragrant and becomes translucent.
Next, add the prepared tomatoes and stir-fry until the tomatoes release their juices, then add the marinated meat to stir-fry together.
Continue to stir-fry the beef in the pot until all surfaces of the meat are cooked evenly and no longer red.
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Cooking beef with canned tomatoes and red wine
When the beef is stir-fried until it is slightly browned on all sides, add 3 bay leaves and the can of tomato sauce, then stir well, cover, and continue to simmer on low heat until the meat is thoroughly cooked and tender, absorbing the spices for about 1 hour.
Next, add 150ml of red wine, mix well, and also add the whole garlic cloves into the pot to cook together.
Continue adding 500ml of water, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 40g of butter to the pot, then cover and simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes to complete.
When serving, sprinkle chopped green onions and cilantro on top to enhance the dish’s aroma!
Tip:- If you like a thicker sauce, mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water, then add it to the pot and stir until the sauce reaches the desired thickness, then turn off the heat.
- If you prefer a dish with a stronger wine flavor, after turning off the heat, add another 1.5 tablespoons of red wine and mix well to enhance the sauce’s fragrance.
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Final Product
The special beef stew dish has an incredibly appealing aroma, eye-catching colors, and when eaten, you can feel the tenderness of the beef along with the chewy and crispy beef tendons that absorb the spices evenly. This dish is very suitable to be enjoyed hot with French baguette!
See more:
Above is the article guiding how to make French beef stew deliciously, changing flavors for the whole family. Hope that through the shared recipe, you will have a truly delicious and warm meal. Wishing you success!
