How to cook delicious and authentic beef stew at home, simply and easily.

Beef (you can choose short ribs, tendons, or brisket)

Tomatoes, ginger, garlic

Carrots, potatoes

Spices: cinnamon, star anise, black pepper, five-spice powder, butter, fish sauce…

Tapioca starch

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients

Wash the beef thoroughly after purchasing it, then blanch it briefly in warm salt water or diluted ginger water or wine to remove any odor. Afterwards, cut it into large, bite-sized pieces. You shouldn't cut the meat into small or thin pieces because it will shrink during cooking.

After cleaning and slicing the beef, marinate it with ginger, garlic, fish sauce, five-spice powder, pepper, and cooking oil. Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes to allow the meat to absorb the flavors.

If you want the meat to be tender and the dish to look more appealing, at this step you can marinate the meat with wine or add color by marinating it with gac fruit or annatto oil.

Wash the tomatoes, cut them into pieces, remove the seeds, and puree them. Peel the carrots and potatoes and cut them into large pieces.

Step 2: Cook the beef in red wine sauce.

After marinating the beef, stir-fry it until browned, then add butter and tomatoes and stir-fry for another 5-7 minutes until the mixture is cooked through and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Next, add enough water to just cover the ingredients in the pot, bring to a gentle boil, and skim off any foam. While simmering, continue adding some supplementary ingredients to enhance the flavor of the wine sauce, such as pureed tomatoes, cinnamon and star anise (in small amounts), bay leaves, wine, and butter.

Simmer the beef for about 50-60 minutes until tender, then add the potatoes and carrots and cook for another 15 minutes.

You can also mix some cornstarch with water, stir well, and add it to the pot to thicken the dish to your desired consistency.

Once the beef stew is cooked through, spoon it into a bowl, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and serve with bread or hot rice.

Beef stew with red wine sauce has a very special flavor; the sauce is slightly thick, and the beef is tender, fall-off-the-bone, and irresistibly fragrant.

When cooking beef stew, you should choose the brisket cut because it has both lean meat, fat, and tendons, so it won't be dry when cooked.

Depending on the preferences and tastes of each family, the ingredients used for marinating and cooking beef stew will vary slightly.

To make beef more flavorful, you should use red wine in the cooking process instead of regular white wine.