Braised Beef with Star Anise

Asian flavours blend with tomato and orange to give the stewing beef a spicy kick. It's one of those meals that require little preparation and cook slowly. It can be stored frozen.

• Applesauce can be substituted for tomato juice if there are intolerances or allergies to the nightshade family of plants.

• Orange peel is like the herb chen pi which allows the rich food to be broken down and digested without causing stagnation. It aids the stomach and digestion by strengthening.

• Star anise is the herb da hui xiang, it helps warm the low back and abdomen and regulates the movement of the food through the body.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg Stewing Beef cut into large chunks

• Salt and ground black pepper

• 2 cups tomato juice or apple sauce

• 2 cups water

• 1 tbsp. brown sugar

• 2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

• 1/3 cup soy sauce

• 4 whole star anise (da hui xiang)

• 4 dried chillies

• 2 thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger, thinly sliced (18 slices)

• Rind of ½ orange, removed with a potato peeler so there is no pith (will have similar properties to chen pi)

• 1 whole head garlic, cloves peeled, halved and trimmed

How to prepare

• Turn the oven to 180˚C and preheat.

• Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown in a pan.

• In a separate bowl, combine the tomato juice, water, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce.

• Pour the liquid over the browned meat, scatter with the star anise, chillies, sliced ginger, orange rind and garlic cloves.

• Cover with a piece of baking paper to stop any exposed meat from drying out and then cover the dish with a tight fitting lid.

• Cook for 2½ hours until very tender.

This dish can be cooked a day or two ahead, in which case bake for 2 hours then reheat for 40 minutes at 180˚C.

Enjoy 'cos life is for living'.

Image sourced from Meg Baggott