Beef Brisket in Clear Broth 清湯牛腩 (Cantonese: ching tong ngau nam) is a popular Hong Kong dish inspired by Chaozhou cuisine. Cantonese people love their brisket. We like to braise it in Chu Hou sauce and have it with rice or noodles. However, white radish is really the unsung hero in these dishes. The white radish is soft, sweet and absorbs the beefy flavour of the broth. I personally prefer it over the beef brisket.
The most prized part of the brisket is the inside skirt steak or 崩沙腩 (Cantonese: bung sa nam). Here in the west, the skirt steak has little fat, and no membranes nor tendons. But for Cantonese people, we like it with all those things! Since I live in Vancouver, it was not easy finding brisket that’s affordable and untrimmed. At a popular Asian grocery chain store called T&T Supermarket, they only carry veal brisket. Veal doesn’t have enough of the beefy aroma that’s necessary to make this dish. Then, I went to a western butcher and they sold brisket for $20 per pound that was too lean!
I finally found some beef brisket at another Asian grocery store (Langley Farm Market) in Richmond which is a suburb close to Vancouver for only $8 per pound. It wasn’t the inside skirt that I desperately wanted to find but it wasn’t bad. At this point, I had been to 5 different butchers. One of the butchers even said he’d save me some untrimmed skirt steak, but it’s been 2 weeks and he hasn’t called yet.
I guess beef brisket may not be as easily available in some places around the world and it can be somewhat costly too. Anyways, I made due with what I could find. I also got some beef rib bones to flavour the soup. And it turned out really well!
Some essential elements to this dish are the tender beef pieces, subtle spice flavour, sweet and tender white radish and the clear broth. In my Beef Brisket in Clear Broth 清湯牛腩 recipe, I’ll show you how to do all that. This dish is usually served with flat rice noodles but I think it goes well with a bowl of white jasmine rice too. This is one of my comfort foods, maybe it’ll be yours too!
Like to try more braised dishes? Try out my Braised Pork with Potatoes 薯仔炆豬肉 or Easy Braised Beef with Tomatoes 簡易番茄炆牛腩.
Beef Brisket in Clear Broth 清湯牛腩
Ingredients
- 450 g Beef brisket and/or skirt steak (untrimmed)
- 450 g Beef finger meat (deboned short rib)
- 450 g Beef bones (optional)
- 1.5 kg White radish
- 1 bulb Garlic
- 6 slices Ginger
- 1 Shallot
- 2 stalks Green onions
- 200 g Chinese celery
- 20 g Rock sugar
- 1 Star anise
- 3 Bay leaves
- 3 Licorice root slices
- 1 tbsp White peppercorns
- 1 Cao guo aka black cardamom
- 1 Small cinnamon stick
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp Salt for parboiling white radish
- 1.5 L Water (enough to cover all the ingredients)
Instructions
- Prepare 6 slices of ginger and 2 stalks of green onions by tying each into a knot
My knot came apart - In a large pot, add all your uncut meats including bones (if any), 2 slices of ginger, 1 stalk of green onion and 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine. Cover with water and use high heat to bring it to a boil
- Remove the contents from the pot, rinse with water and discard the water in the pot
- Prepare 1 bulb of garlic. Cut off the end of the garlic bulb to expose the cloves of garlic. Set aside
- Prepare 1 whole shallot and 200g of Chinese celery
Chinese celery is more pungent than its wester counterpart and will give the soup a very distinctive flavour that is a signature in the traditional making of this dish - Soak 1 star anise, 3 bay leaves, 3 licorice root slices, 1 tbsp white peppercorns, 1 cao guo and 1 small cinnamon stick. Put into a spice bag
- In a large pot put the bones, the beef, Chinese celery, 4 slices of ginger, 1 stalk green onions, 1 bulb garlic, 1 shallot, spice pack and 20 g rock sugar. Add water until everything is covered and bring to a boil
- Once the liquid starts to boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 1 hour
- Peel white radish. Peel off 2 layers as the outer layer generally is fibrous and will result in an unpleasant texture
- Cut white radish into your desired size and set aside
I typically do roll cuts on my white radish and I cut them into approx. 1” pieces - Optional step: in a separate pot, add white radish, 1 tsp of salt and enough water to cover the white radish. Bring it to a boil and remove the white radish. Allow the white radish to drain in colander
this step will help minimize the bitterness of the white radish - Check on the beef after 30 minutes. Give it a stir and taste the soup. If the soup has the right amount of spice flavour for you, then discard the spice bag. If you like more spice aroma, then keep it in the pot. Repeat this process after every 30 minutes
- After 1 hour, add the white radish into the pot with 2 tbsp fish sauce
- Braising should be done after 1 more hour (so 2 hours in total). However, different cuts of meats may need longer, especially if your meat contains tendons or tougher membranes. You may have to braise for another 30-60 minutes if the meat was not tender after 2 hours
- Once the meat is tender, Taste the soup. Add fish sauce, salt or water to make adjustments if necessary. Remove all the contents from the soup
- Use a skimmer to remove any impurities from the soup
- Let the beef cool
- Slice the beef to your desired size
- Rearrange into serving bowl
- Serve with noodles or rice
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