Are you looking for a beef recipe that’s a bit more interesting than your regular ol’ stew? This highly aromatic Vietnamese Beef Stew will quickly become your favourite comfort food!

Tender slow-cooked beef in a rich and incredibly flavourful gravy – this stew is easy to make on the stove/oven or your slow cooker.

Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

Beef and Marinade

900 g 2lb braising steak (chuck steak) cut into cubes
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 lemongrass stalks outer leaves removed, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce optional
1 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar

For the Stew

2 tbsp vegetable oil to sear beef
4 banana shallots peeled and roughly chopped
2 green chillies de seeded and finely chopped
4 large tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 carrots peeled and chopped
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
2 kaffir lime leaves fresh or dried
625 ml | 2 ½ cups hot beef stock
450 g | 1lb butternut squash peeled and cubed
1 tbsp cornflour /cornstarch diluted in 1 tbsp cold water, to thicken
Thai basil chopped to garnish
salt and pepper to season if needed

Instructions

Combine the beef, lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese Spice, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.

Leave to marinate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 160C (325F) and have all your vegetables prepared.

Put the oil in the casserole and heat over medium high heat. Sear the beef, in batches if necessary, until nicely browned.

Add a splash of hot stock to deglaze the pan, scraping any browned bits with a wooden spoon.

Add the shallots and chillies and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, carrots, cinnamon stick, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and stock and bring slowly to a rolling simmer.

Cover the casserole and transfer to the oven. Cook for an hour.

Take the casserole dish out of the oven – careful it will be very hot! – and stir in the butternut squash.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 45 minutes to 1 hour until meat is very tender.

Stir the cornflour slurry into the stew and simmer for a couple of minutes on the hob to thicken the gravy.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, star anise and kaffir lime leaves.

Add some chopped basil leaves, check the seasoning and serve with crusty bread, or over rice..

Slow Cooker instructions

Marinate and brown the beef as instructed above then transfer to your slow cooker.

Add all the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours.

Add the cornflour slurry and cook on HIGH, uncovered, until the gravy thickens.

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, star anise and kaffir lime leaves.

Add some chopped basil leaves, check the seasoning and serve with crusty bread, or over rice.