“快切一斤牛肉，半斤羊肝来。”他只道牛肉羊肝便是天下最好的美味。
這是郭靖第一次見到黃蓉時，在张家口的大酒店所點的天下最好的美味。我想郭靖點的牛肉大概是北方家家戶戶都愛吃的，酱牛肉 。這道菜很適合大口吃肉大碗喝酒的豪放，煮好放涼的酱牛肉切成薄片，直接吃就很有味道了，學郭靖一樣牛肉配麵餅一把把往口中塞，那就是武林中人的豪邁美食了。
不過飛薄的酱牛肉片再淋上一些醬汁，扮點香菜、小黃瓜絲，就成了一道美味的主食了。
這一道酱牛肉用半筋半肉的小牛腱做最好，加醬油、甜麵醬、香料滷到軟嫩，但肉和筋還帶一點點咬勁。牛肉滷好后，還要浸在醬汁裏到涼，才會真正的入味。涼了后最好放冰箱冷藏一下，才比較好切薄片。
做好牛肉后的醬汁可別倒掉了，過濾掉裏面的香料，將醬汁冰凍，下次再做酱牛肉，這就是上好的老醬汁，味道更濃。
這道菜做法并不難，不過需要耐心，因爲時間會是最好的調料。
[recipe]
Makes 4 servings
[ingredients]
- 1 beef shin
- 2 Tbsp Sweet Bean Paste 甜麵醬
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 4 thick slices of ginger
- 2 whole stakes of scallion, cut into sections.
- 1-2 large star anise
- 3-4 whole cloves
- 1 piece of thumb nail size cinnamon stick
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 草果
- 1 cucumber julienned
- small handful of coriander leaves
Sauce for assembling dish
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp black Chinese vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp braising liquid 滷汁
- 2 tsp chili oil 麻辣紅油 (optional)
- Pinch of white sesame seeds
[directions]
- Use a fork to poke some holes in the beef shank all over. Place the beef shank in a bag and add the soy sauce, sweet bean sauce, sugar, and rice wine to the beef shank. Mix well and tie up the bag so the the beef shank is submerged in the sauce. Marinate for 1 hour.
- Place the beef shank, all the sauce and spices into a pot. Cover beef shank with water and bring to a boil. Simmer beef shank for 1 hour and check to see if it’s done. It is done when a chop stick can be easily inserted, but the beef is not yet falling apart.
- Once it’s fully cooked, turn off the fire and cover the pot. Leave it until the beef and braising liquid are cooled to room temperature. Then refrigerate.
- Place the julienne cucumber sticks on the bottom of a dish. Thinly slice the beef and place over the cucumber sticks. Scatter sliced coriander leaves on top of the sliced beef.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and pour over the beef. Mix and serve!
[/recipe]