Amount of ingredients

850 grams of Uruguayan beef shank

1 onion

1 red bell pepper

1 celery stalk

1 tomato

300 grams of potatoes

12 grams of chili powder

2 bay leaves

50 grams of tomato paste

8 grams of salt

12 grams of sugar

1 stick of parsley, as decoration, optional

Vegetable oil 25 grams

1. Pretreatment of beef. When cooking Western-style stews, almost without exception, you need to fry the meat until it is golden in appearance. On the one hand, it can enhance the taste of the dishes, and on the other hand, it can also improve the color. It is best not to use a non-stick pan for this process. There are two reasons. First, the heat transfer efficiency of the non-stick coating itself is low, which makes the meat color less capable. Second, the temperature is higher during the cooking process, and it is easy to burn some of the fat. Sintering on the coating reduces its non-stick properties. Yangyang recommends using a stainless steel pot. After use, pour cold water into it while it is hot and clean it. First preheat the pan for 3 minutes and 30 seconds, then pour 5 grams of vegetable oil into the bottom of the pan. If the preheating is in place, the oil will almost start to smoke when it enters the pan (if the temperature is not high enough, the meat will be sticky). Then quickly spread the beef (if using beef from other parts, you can cut it into 3-4 cm square pieces) on the bottom of the pot, being careful not to crowd them together. When one side turns golden brown, flip and fry until all the beef is cooked. Put the fried beef on the plate and set aside. At this time, you can smell it. The fishy smell of raw beef has long disappeared and it smells fragrant.

2. Pre-processing of vegetables: cut onions, red peppers, celery and tomatoes into small dices. Take a pan with a lid, preheat it slightly and add about 20 grams of vegetable oil. Pour the diced onions into the pan and stir-fry until the surface of the onions becomes translucent. This process will take about 5-8 minutes and must be considerable. patience. For this type of stew, if the onions are not fried in advance to release their sweetness, and water is added later, the temperature will no longer rise, and the taste of the dish will be greatly compromised. Pour in the diced red pepper and continue to stir-fry for 4 minutes. The properties of red pepper and onion are very similar, and they both require a certain amount of heating time to release their own flavor. Then add the diced tomatoes and celery and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.

3. Add 12 grams of sweet paprika, which is the main flavor of this dish. Add the chili powder and stir-fry quickly. Soon all the vegetables were dyed red. Add 750 grams of hot water and bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Put the previously fried beef into the pot and try to cover them with the soup.

4. Add 8g salt to taste. There are two common ways to thicken Uruguayan beef soup. One is to add fresh pasta (similar to northern gnocchi) to the pot before serving. The flour that falls off the pasta can dissolve into the soup to thicken it. The second is to add diced potatoes into the soup. By heating for a long time, part of the starch in the potatoes can be dissolved into the soup, which can also improve the properties of the dish. Here we use 300 grams of diced potatoes. Add two bay leaves.

5. Leave a gap in the pot lid, adjust the stove power to keep the soup boiling steadily, and heat for 90 minutes. If you use regular beef, you will need to increase the heating time until the beef is cooked enough that you can easily poke it with chopsticks. There are many conflicting opinions about pot lids. British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay said that there should be a gap in the pot lid, otherwise the condensed moisture on the pot lid will drip into the pot, making the dishes too steamy. His chef Marco White says the exact opposite, saying that the lid must be tightly closed or the aroma will escape. The father-in-law is right, and the mother-in-law is right. Everyone still needs more practice to find the method that suits them.

Step 4: After the beef is cooked, lower the stove heat and add 50 grams of tomato paste. Unlike tomato sauce, tomato paste is concentrated tomatoes and does not contain other seasonings. 50 grams of tomato paste is just enough to counteract the strong taste of the paprika without being too overwhelming.

6. Add 12 grams of sugar to neutralize the sourness of the tomato paste, and add more salt to taste if necessary. You can also sprinkle with some chopped parsley as a final garnish before serving. Paprika, onions, tomatoes and red peppers create the unique warm atmosphere of this dish, and paired with the perfectly braised beef, it is enough to turn every family table into a little paradise full of affection. .