Miso Ginger Beef Stew

When I came up with this stew I wanted to make something hearty but less traditional. I decided to lean into Asian flavors and still keep the technique of a slow cooked stew.

I began by making a paste of white miso, scallion whites and rice wine vinegar, and then marinating the beef overnight. I kept the base and method of making the stew traditional, by searing the beef in batches, then adding heartier ingredients, such as potatoes, carrots, and celery. I added a fair amount of ginger and garlic to the base as well as mirin and ponzu to build the foundation.

After the stew was cooked and close to the final texture I was looking for, I added water chestnuts and baby corn. I cooked it a bit longer, to make sure the flavors properly blended, then I thickened it to my desired finish with a touch of cornstarch slurry. To finish the soup, I added snow peas and tofu in small batches for each bowl of soup.

The use of the slurry, the swap from traditional red wine to rice wine, and the addition of ingredients like water chestnuts and tofu make this a different take on a classic home-style dish. Feel free to adjust to your flavor profile by adding hot sauce, soy sauce, more mirin, and more rice wine vinegar.

Enjoy.

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Ingredients

Beef Marinade

• chuck roll, cleaned and cubed 3 lbs

• white miso 3 T

• ginger, finely chopped 3 T

• hot peppers, crushed 2 ea

• white pepper 1 T

• mirin 1/4 cup

• scallion whites (greens reserved for soup) 2 bunch

Method of Procedure

1. Clean and cube your chuck roll.

2. Chop your scallions and ginger.

3. Place scallions, ginger, and peppers into a mortar and pestle*

4. Turn your mix into a paste and add your miso and white pepper.

5. Add your mirin to the paste then add to the beef and thoroughly coat to marinate.

6. Place in the refrigerator over night.

*You can mix everything in a food processor as well, but the idea is to make a paste with your ingredients

Soup

• marinated beef 3 lbs

• scallion greens (reserved) 2 bunch

• ginger, minced 2 oz

• garlic, minced 5 cloves

• onions, diced 2 ea

• ponzu 1 T

• mirin 1 T

• carrots, sliced* 8 ea

• celery, sliced 1 bunch

• chicken stock 2 qts

• water 2 qts

• potatoes, chopped 12 oz

• water chestnuts, sliced 8 oz

• baby corn, sliced 8 oz

• snow peas, sliced** 1/2 lb

• tofu, cubed** 12 oz

• white pepper 1 T

• salt & pepper to taste

• rice wine vinegar as needed

• hot sauce as needed

• cornstarch slurry as needed

*The carrots I used were thin, so I went with 8. If you have larger ones only use 4

**The tofu and snow peas are added to the soup when heating it up to serve.

Garnish

scallion greens

Method of Procedure

1. Sear your marinated beef in small batches and set aside.

2. Once your beef is done, begin sauteing your garlic, ginger, and onions.

3. Add your seared beef back to the mix and de-glaze with ponzu and mirin.

4. Put your potatoes into the mix then add your chicken stock and water.

5. Bring your soup to a simmer and add your celery and carrots.

6. Season the broth to taste and cook until the liquid has reduced and the soup has thickened up.

7. While your soup is cooking, blanche your snow peas and shock them.

8. Add your water chestnuts and baby corn to the stew and cook for an additional 20 minutes for the flavors to marry.

9. Bring to a quick boil and add cornstarch slurry in small batches to thicken.

10. Once you've reached your desired consistency season to taste with ponzu, hot sauce, salt, pepper, white pepper, and rice wine vinegar if it needs to be a bit brighter.

11. To serve, add cubed tofu, scallion greens, and sliced snow peas.