Asian inspired beef shoulder, a slow cooked one pot beef dish. Deliciously warming dish, with a nice amount of spice, perfect for cold Winter afternoons.
Asian inspired beef shoulder is a really simple dish to prepare, the oven does all the hard work for you. This cut of beef is full of meaty flavour, lending itself well to a slow braise. It’s a great cut for the Winter months when a warming rich stew is what you want. As we approach the festive period this is an ideal dish. It required little in the way of preparation. It’s an assembly job then you pop into the oven while you spend time with the family. It is also a recipe that can be easily multiplied if you happen to be feeding a crowd.
When I picked up the beef shoulder the obvious choices would have been a beef bourguignon or a goulash. However I wanted something a bit different. The first thing that came into my head was of course spice, and specifically warm Chinese spices. This dish is reminiscent of dishes I ate in China: star anise, sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon. I love the tradition of a festive roast with all the trimmings but after a couple of days I need a spice hit. This dish works really well served with some steamed rice and our Simple Stir Fried Pak Choi.
Additional recipe suggestions:
If you like this Asian dish then try our Chinese Glazed Pork Belly, our Pork & Peanut Stir-fry or our Easy Stir-fry Chicken & Cashew.
Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at our Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners. Full of useful hints, tips and recipes.

asian inspired beef shoulder
Ingredients
- 750 g shoulder steak (diced into 5cm chunks and season with salt & pepper)
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 250 g shallots (remove skin and leave whole)
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 5 cm fresh ginger (grated)
- 2 red finger chillies (de-seeded and sliced)
- 1 tsp ground 5-spice
- 3 whole star anise
- 5 cm piece cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp crushed sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 150 ml white wine
- 100 ml rice mirin
- 1 Knorr rich beef stockpot
- 300 ml water
Instructions
- Heat the sunflower oil in a oven proof casserole dish that has a lid. Add the seasoned beef in batches and take care to brown evenly over a medium-high heat. Remove the beef into a dish and set aside for later.
- Turn the hob down a little and using the same casserole, brown the whole shallots over a medium heat. Once nicely golden, remove into a separate dish and set aside for later.
- Add more sunflower oil to the casserole if necessary and over a medium heat add the sliced onions and saute for 3-4 minutes before adding the garlic, ginger and chilli. Continue to saute for a further 2-3 minutes. Add all the dry spices to the pan and cook for a further minute, stirring the mixture to release the aromatics in the spice.
- Add the dark and light soy sauce, white wine, rice mirin, beef stock pot and water to the casserole dish and stir to combine all the ingredients. Return the beef to the casserole along with any juices from the plate.
- Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and place in a pre-heated oven at 150CFan and cook for 2 hours, stir the casserole half way through.
- After 2 hours remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the shallots that were browned earlier. Put the lid back on and return the casserole to the oven for a further 30 minutes. If you think the sauce is looking a bit thick then add a little water at this stage. Once cooked serve with steamed rice.
- To serve you may wish to reduce the sauce. To do this remove all the meat and vegetables from the casserole and place the sauce over a high heat to reduce for 5 minutes, or until you achieve a consistency you like. Return the meat and vegetables to the casserole, mix through and serve with some steamed rice.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
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Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
This sounds amazing! Love all those spices too – star anise is one of my all time faves and goes so well with beef. Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare 😀 Eb x
Lesley
You’re welcome Eb, I do love this dish. To be fair I love anything that’s heavily spiced. Lesley x