Have you ever wondered what makes the beef brisket curry served in the Hong Kong cha chaan teng so tender and tasty? I discovered the secret recently from one of these cha chaan teng chefs. The beef brisket goes through two rounds of cooking: first round is to simmer the beef brisket in chu hou sauce, bay leaves and aniseed till tender (wish I could get beef tendons here). The second round involves cooking the curry paste and adding the cooked brisket, the cooking liquid and coconut milk.

The beef brisket is so tender and the sauce is fragrant and very tasty. This recipe is a definite keeper and deserves ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Note: One of the key ingredients of beef brisket curry is beef tendon - the very tasty slippery and tender beef tendon. Unfortunately I am not able to find any beef tendon for sale here in Brisbane so the dish as is not quite completely satisfying. If you can find beef tendon, do include that in this dish - just make sure you boil beef tendon for at least 30 mins to achieve the tenderness required for this dis

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/ZIgUw5DA_Lg

INGREDIENTS

500 gm beef brisket (cut into large chunks)
3 ginger slices
1 stalk of spring onion

BRAISING INGREDIENTS:
4 ginger slices
1 stalk of spring onion
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chu hou sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp rock sugar
3 bay leaves
1 aniseed
2 cups of water

CURRY PASTE INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp fried shallot (or 1/2 onion if you prefer)
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp sambal chilli
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine
2 potatoes (large cubes)
1 cup coconut milk

METHOD

1. Fill a pot with cold water. Add the beef brisket, ginger slices and spring onion. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins.

2. Remove, drain and wash under the tap. Drain.

3. Add oil to a pot. Add ginger and spring onion. Fry till fragrant. Add chu hou sauce, fry at low heat till fragrant.

4. Add drained beef brisket. Stir fry to coat.

5. Add cooking wine, rock sugar, bay leaves and aniseed. Stir to mix.

6. Add 2 cups of water. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove cooked beef brisket from cooking liquid. Set both aside.

7. Make the curry paste: Heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add garlic, ginger and fried onion. Fry till fragrant. Add sambal chilli, turmeric, chilli powder, sweet paprika, ground coriander and ground cumin. Fry at low heat till oil separates out.

8. Add the cooked beef, stir to mix well with curry paste. Add soya sauce, dark soya sauce and cooking wine.

9. Pour in reserved cooking liquid. Stir and bring to the boil. Cover & simmer for 45 mins. Use chopstick to test if beef brisket is tender enough (to your liking).

10. Add potatoes and continue cooking for 15 mins.

11. Just before serving, add coconut milk and cook for 5 mins.

Serve with rice or egg noodles, steamed rice or roti paratha. I have also used the leftovers to make beef biryani - yummy!