Japanese Beef Stew

This Japanese-inspired beef stew recipe is really comforting, especially in the cold winter days!

Grocery TIP

By using chuck or chuck steak, and cleaning it up at home, removing some larger fat pieces, etc., makes it affordable. Sometimes the “stew meat” at the grocery store is more expensive, and not as marbled.

This recipe is for 4 portions

2 Lbs Cleaned beef chuck or stew meat

1/4 Cup Avocado oil

1 Tbls minced Ginger

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 Tbls Honey

1/2 Cup Diced Yellow onion

1-2 ea Garlic cloves, minced

1/2 Lemon zested and juice - save the juice for finishing

1 Cup Diced Butternut squash or Carrots or both

1/2 Cup sliced Mushrooms - white button or crimini

2-3 ea sliced Scallions

2-3 Cups Chicken stock

Salt and Black pepper to season the meat with, but also might need some for finishing the stew

In a large cast iron skillet, heated to high, add the oil and sear the beef hard. By working in batches make sure to not over crowd the skillet as you will have a hard time getting a good sear. Getting a hard caramilaziation on the meat will give you the best flavor.

Use the skillet to sear off your beef, but move the beef after to a dutch oven, for the last step of the cooking.

Once all meat have been seared off and moved to the Dutch oven, add the onion, garlic and give it a quick sautee, just to soften the onion. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock in the skillet and cook out all of the onion, garlic and the meat scraps that sticking in pan, scrape it off using a wooden spatula, pour the onion and stock mixture ino the dutch oven where the meat is and add the rest of the ingrendients, except scallion, squash/ carrots, and lemon zest and jucie.

Allow the stew to slowly simmer for about 45 minutes. Once you feel the beef is getting softer, not bouncy, then add the scallions, squash and/ or the carrots. Simmer for another 15 minutes and season and taste!

Here is another tip. Allow the stew to sit for 20-30 minutes under lid, just so the beef can relax.

Serve with rice.