This plan-ahead delicious recipe is one your family will crave and will WOW your guests. The queen, Caro Chambers, came up with this fabulous concoction and I could not love it more. It is not time intensive in the sense that you do not have a ton of hands-on time (about 30 minutes), but it does cook in the oven (or crockpot but it is best in a dutch oven in the oven) for 3.5-5 hours. Usually I modify every recipe to suit my tastes but hardly needed modification! My only suggestion is if you are not a fan of spicy, leave out the crushed red pepper or add less than listed. Shout out to my daughters Carter & Cole for alerting me to this delicacy!
Ginger Beef Ingredients
- 2.5-3 lbs chuck roast or boneless short ribs
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 6 scallions
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 3 Tablespoons sesame oil (preferably toasted)
- 1&1/2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 (3 inch) piece of ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup water
Smashed Cucumbers Ingredients
- 10-12 Persian cucumbers (about 1.5 pounds) **You can use English cucumbers in place of Persian ones by halving them length wise and scooping out the seeds before smashing them and chopping.
- kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves
- fresh cilantro (about 1/4 cup)
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil (preferably toasted)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds + more for serving
Rice Ingredients
- 1.5 cups long grain white rice, rinsed thoroughly
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon neutral oil (like avocado oil)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (preferably toasted)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 limes for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees farenheit
- Cut the beef into roughly 2-inch pieces. Pat it dry and then toss in a bowl with cornstarch to coat.
- Slice the scallions and place in a dutch oven. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, vinegar, red pepper flakes (if using), sesame seeds, water , ginger and garlic into the pot. Stir well, and then add the beef and turn to coat. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Bake for 3.5-5 hours or until the beef is tender and pulls apart esily with a fork. If it is not shredding easily after 4 hours, keep cooking it. Keep cooking! It will still be delicious! When the beef is done, use a slotted spoon to skim any fat from surface of the sauce. Use 2 forks for shred the meat into large piecces and stir them back into the sauce in the dutch oven.
- While that cooks, make the cucumbers. Lay the cucumbers on a cutting board and gently smash them with the flat side of a large knife or a rolling pin until they crack and split open. Cut them into bite size pieces and transfer into a colander set in a sink or over a bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and let stand to release their liquid while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Finely chop the garlic and 1/4 cup of cilantro. In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, granulated sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using). Pat cucumbers dry and add them to bowl with the dressing, tossing to coat. Top with sesame seeds and cilantro. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, make the rice. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, neutral oil, sesame oil, salt and 2.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, usually 15-18 minutes. Reove from the heat and let stand, covered, for at least 10 minutes or until ready to serve. Fluff with fork before serving.
- Cut the lines into 8 wedges.
- Remove cucumbers from fridge and stir.
- Scoop rice into a shallow bowls and spoon beef over the rice. Add a generous topping of cucumbers and top with extra scallions and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over the whole dish. Enjoy!