Braised Beef and Herb Soup Recipe

Niu (牛) is beef. Pahu (扒烀) means braised until tender in Yunnan dialect. This is a Yunnan-style braised beef soup. Yunnan is a special province, it has the largest number of ethnic minorities so there are lots of different cultures here. It borders Myanmar, Vietnam, and Laos; It is connected with Thailand and Cambodia through the Lancang Mekong River. With lots of catering collisions, Yunnan developed a complex, tropical, and interesting cuisine.

INGREDIENTS

To make the beef soup
2 kg of tough cuts of beef (beef honey cone trips, beef tendon, beef ribs, beef meat, beef bones)
2-3 liters of water
2 inches of ginger, sliced thinly
2 scallions, cut into stocks

To complete the soup
10-15 cloves of garlic, diced
1 inch of minced ginger, diced
2 scallion, diced
2 shallot, diced
5-8 Thai bird-eye chili, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/3 cups of diced mint leaves
5-6 culantro leaves, diced
5-6 cilantro leaves, diced
Lime juice from 2-3 limes, taste and adjust
1 tbsp of salt or to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a big pot with water and add the beef. Bring it to a boil. Skim off the scum. Any tough beef cuts will work good for this recipe. Do your best to collect multiple cuts of beef so you can have different textures and flavors in one pot.

Put the following aromatics and spices into a spicy bag: ginger slices, scallion stalks, cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves, and white peppercorns.

Transfer the beef into a clean pot then add 2-3 liters of water. Add the spice bag. Bring it to a boil. Simmer on low heat for 1.5 hours.

Finely dice the garlic, ginger, scallion, shallot, celery, Thai bird-eye chili, mint, Culantro, and cilantro. Squeeze the juice from a few large-size limes. If you can not collect all these herbs, it is ok to use other kinds of herbs you like.

Remove all the beef from the pot and leave the broth behind. Discard the bones and the spice bag. Cut the beef into bite-size pieces.

Put the beef meat back into the clay pot. Bring it to a boil again. Add all the herbs along with the Sichuan peppercorn powder and salt to taste.

Add the lime juice gradually and taste to adjust the flavor.

[SoupedUpRecipes]

Thank you for watching. I love sharing these local Chinese dishes that are delicious but not well known outside of China. Reluctantly, these recipes usually don't get as many views compared to those Westernized take-out dishes. If you like this video, please hit the like button & share this video. That is a big support and encouragement for me. Thank you again =)

[caribesh]

I really appreciate how you not only present beautiful dishes, but also share pieces of history and knowledge from different cultures within China. Keep up the good work!

[HyperactiveNeuron]

This looks wonderful. I'm always happy to see culantro used. I discovered it through Caribbean cuisine and searched my city until I found it in the Asian markets. Now I keep it all the time and barely use cilantro any more. I love the strong taste and aroma.

[junipertree]

I grew up in the mountain west reigion of the United States. I thought I knew what mountains were until I visited Yunnan. Now I KNOW what mountains are. Wow. The landscape there made the Rockies look like gentle hills.

I can't wait to try this! More recipes from Yunnan please!

[silverdawn]

my mom and i made this for dinner tonight. it's really delicious. we had two chunks of beef kneecap taking up a lot of space in the freezer and added them in. the broth is very flavorful and savory. this is a great recipe for cold weather. thank you, mandy!

[tagineandwok]

I have never tried this soup before, but I wanted to give it a shot after watching your video. I made this tonight and it was so so so delicious! Absolutely loved the mint in it - very refreshing. I used beef shank, beef tendon, and beef bones. It did take me 4 hours of simmering, and the tendon still wasn't done yet! I had to put it in the instant pot for 30 min. The broth came out rich and milky, and we ate it with noodles. Definitely will be making it again!

[lorenajacobsen]

So good to see you again! Love our Mandy!

[KingGeddii]

Always a pleasure to watch a Master of Craft at work.

[patphares]

Oh what a delectable soup… probably the tastiest ever. The broth was full of flavor and good to the last drop. Thank you Mandy….

[LaowaiNZ]

Just finished making and eating this dish, very tasty, lots of flavour, though I only put 5 birds eye chillis in it was quite hot so I evened it out with more lime

[azulineamphisbaena]

Think you for making me think of my grandpa. He loved tripe. The rest of us were never brave enough to try it, but it still makes me think of him. 💖

[n.ayisha]

it's half a world away, but this style of cooking has a lot in common with Caribbean cuisine. there is an appreciation for the collagen-rich cuts of meat which gives you that almost creamy background to the soup. likewise, that bit of cartilage at the ends of the bone would be considered a special treat.

growing up in a Caribbean family in the US was like walking between two cultures. Americans prize the big, meaty parts of most animals, but Caribbean cuisine (like most Asian cuisines i've encountered so far) understand that there is a world of flavor and texture to be had in all those end bits and internal organs.

[unapologeticallyhuman]

I was literally thinking that this would be amazing with noodles 🤣 I love how you explain the purpose of the different steps. Helps me to remember even when I'm making other dishes. Will definitely try this!

[tzlwin]

This is one of my favorite food. Thanks Mandy. You are the best.

[antoninazuzanna]

I really like your commentary on Yunnan culinary culture!

[susieangelo]

Thank you, Mandy for introducing and enlightening us to Yunnan, another unique China Province with this rich, flavorful tender beef soup recipe. You looked very elegant today with your Qipao, aka cheongsam (旗袍) (Chinese traditional dress).

[jimcochran]

Just bought Claypot. Excited to try this delicious looking dish. Thank You.

[antonc]

Looks amazing. I love hearty soups with fresh herbs. And props for featuring regional Chinese cuisine… there is so much to Chinese food that we in the west are only just starting to discover.

[arnelakawhitewash]

Thanks for sharing your dish. Looks delish.

[ghlscitel]

What a beautiful dress, Ms. Mandy!
Thanks for the recipe.