Three-Flavor Beef Sauce (Five-Spice, Tomato, and Spicy)

Ingredients

• Beef short ribs (Rinse, simmer in water until tender, cool, and dice; quantity not provided in the video)
• Sliced ginger (For simmering the beef short ribs; quantity not provided)
• Spice-braising packet (Mentioned in the OCR; the spoken instructions for simmering only mention sliced ginger, so it is unclear whether the packet is added)
• Dried shiitake mushrooms (Rinse and soak in boiling water until softened; reserve the soaking liquid; quantity not provided)
• Tomatoes (Diced; quantity not provided)
• Onion (Diced; used separately for the tomato and spicy flavors; quantity not provided)
• Fresh shiitake mushrooms (Diced; fresh shiitake mushrooms are mentioned in the spoken instructions, but the base sauce method adds diced mushrooms, so it is unclear whether both dried and fresh mushrooms are used)
• Long green pepper (Diced, then cooked until softened before adding to the spicy flavor; quantity not provided)
• Ground beef (Use raw beef patties or ground beef, breaking it up first; quantity not provided)
• Minced ginger (For the base sauce; quantity not provided)
• Minced garlic (For the base sauce; quantity not provided)
• Canola oil (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Cilantro (Whole bunch, for making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Scallion segments (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Star anise (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Sichuan peppercorns (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Bay leaves (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Cinnamon stick (For making scallion oil; quantity not provided)
• Light soy sauce (Used in both the base sauce and tomato flavor; quantity not provided)
• Five-spice powder (For seasoning the base sauce; quantity not provided)
• Chicken bouillon powder (For added savoriness; quantity not provided)
• 1 勺 Doubanjiang (For the base sauce; spoon size not specified)
• 1 勺 Sweet bean sauce (For the base sauce; spoon size not specified)
• White sugar (For seasoning the base sauce and tomato flavor; quantity not provided)
• Salt (For seasoning the base sauce; quantity not provided)
• Ketchup (For the tomato flavor; quantity not provided)
• Tomato paste (For the tomato flavor; quantity not provided)
• Rock sugar (The spoken instructions mention adding a few pieces; exact quantity not provided)
• Chopped chili peppers (For seasoning the spicy flavor; quantity not provided)
• Chili powder (The spoken instructions specify a fragrant, mild chili powder that is not very hot; quantity not provided)
• White sesame seeds (Added at the end to the spicy flavor; quantity not provided)

Steps

1. 1

   Briefly rinse the beef short ribs; do not soak them for long or blanch them. Put them in a pressure cooker with water and sliced ginger and cook until tender. The source does not specify the amount of water or the pressure-cooking time.

2. 2

   Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms and soak them in boiling water, weighing them down with a plate so they stay submerged. Reserve the soaking liquid.

3. 3

   Dice the tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, and long green pepper. Once the beef short ribs are cooked, do not continue to let them sit in the cooker; remove them, cool, and cut into small cubes.

4. 4

   Break up the raw ground beef and prepare the minced ginger and garlic.

5. 5

   Make the scallion oil: Heat the canola oil to about 60% hot, then add the whole bunch of cilantro, scallion segments, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and sliced ginger.

6. 6

   Turn the heat to low and fry gently for about 8–10 minutes, until the spices and scallions look as shown in the video. Remove them and strain the oil. The fried solids can be saved for tossing with noodles or cooking with meat; the source does not specify their exact appearance.

7. 7

   Heat a pan with the strained scallion oil. Add the raw ground beef first and stir-fry until it changes color.

8. 8

   Add the cooked diced beef short ribs and stir-fry for about 3–5 minutes to cook off the moisture, until the surface is lightly browned and fragrant.

9. 9

   Add the minced garlic, minced ginger, and diced mushrooms, then stir-fry.

10. 10

    Add the salt, light soy sauce, five-spice powder, chicken bouillon powder, mushroom soaking liquid, 1 spoonful of doubanjiang, 1 spoonful of sweet bean sauce, and white sugar. Stir well and reduce the liquid to make the base beef sauce. The spoken instructions say to set aside about one-third of the base sauce, while a later part of the video says to add half to the tomato flavor; the proportions are inconsistent.

11. 11

    Make the tomato flavor: Heat a separate pan and cook the diced onion until softened.

12. 12

    Add the diced tomatoes and cook until softened, then add the ketchup, tomato paste, light soy sauce, and white sugar. The spoken instructions also mention adding a few pieces of rock sugar.

13. 13

    Add the reserved base beef sauce (the video says to add half), stir well, and cook until combined and thick.

14. 14

    Make the spicy flavor: Heat a separate pan and cook the diced onion until fragrant and softened.

15. 15

    Add the diced long green pepper and cook until softened.

16. 16

    Add the remaining base beef sauce, then add the chopped chili peppers, chili powder, and white sesame seeds. Stir well and remove from the heat. The source does not clearly specify how the base sauce is divided among the flavors.

17. 17

    Divide the finished sauces among small food-storage containers and refrigerate; they should keep for about one week. Serve over rice or noodles, stuff into steamed buns, or pair with boiled vegetables.

Notes

The video does not provide exact ingredient quantities except for 1 spoonful each of doubanjiang and sweet bean sauce. It also omits the amount of water for the pressure cooker and the cooking time, so the nutrition and yield cannot be reliably calculated. The spoken instructions and the video differ on how the base sauce is divided. The source says the sauce keeps refrigerated for about one week.

Nutrition per serving

• Main course
• Chinese
• Beef
• Rice topping
• Noodle topping
• Homemade sauce
• Spicy
• Refrigerator-friendly