Pigeon Cottage Kitchen

I prefer to make all my meals from scratch but I do understand that takeaway food has its place. On the rare occasions that I ever order a Chinese takeaway, I always have beef in black bean sauce with green peppers. If I make it myself, I generally use strips of steak and stir-fry everything in the pan. This version, however, is one I made up because there was no steak in the freezer but I did have two wacking great beef short ribs and a free afternoon to watch the tennis! Dear readers, this is simply the best beef in black bean sauce ever and I urge you to try it. You won’t be disappointed. The beef short ribs are braised ahead of time for a couple of hours or so in the oven and paired with a green stir fry just before serving with some plain white rice on the side. Delicious and totally weekend supper-party worthy.

Serves 2 – 3

Ingredients

• 2 large beef short ribs
• 2 tbs light olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 dessert spoon of rice wine
• 1 bottle of black bean sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsps toasted sesame oil
• Green stir fry: 2 sticks of celery, 1 large green pepper, 1 bunch of spring onions, 4 tender-stems of broccoli. You could add green beans or pan choi – whatever green medley you prefer.

To make…

• Preheat the oven to 160C.
• Peel and chop the garlic and ginger, add a good splash of water and blitz into a smooth paste with a hand held blender.
• Heat the oil in a large over proof casserole dish. Brown the ribs on each side. Set aside. Fry the onion until soft and golden. Add the garlic and ginger mix and fry it off for a minute or two. Add the rice wine, black bean sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. Stir thoroughly and add the short ribs.
• Cover the casserole with a lid and braise slowly in the oven for two and a half hours. Once the meat is cooked it should just fall off the bone, the sauce will be reduced and sticky. Remove the bones and pour off any excess fat. Shred the meat back into the sauce. Check for seasoning. Adding a little more soy sauce at this point or a little squirt of honey is fine – just adjust to taste.
• Meanwhile, prep the green stir-fry. I like to chop the veg into bit sized chunks cut slightly on an angle. It doesn’t affect the flavour but it looks more attractive. Heat a tablespoon of light olive oil in your wok and quickly stir-fry the veg for just a few minutes. It should keep its vivid green colour and a little bite.
• To serve, scatter the stir-fry over the beef in black bean sauce and serve with plain white rice on the side. Let everyone dig in!

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