Step 1

Place beef tendon in a pressure cooker and add water to cover beef completely. Place on high heat until rated pressure has been reached. Turn to lowest heat. Simmer at rated pressure for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally.

Step 2

While simmering the beef tendon, prepare beef plate. Add beef plate into a large pot and add water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn to medium-low heat and keep a gentle boil going for 10 to 15 minutes. While boiling, skim the foam from the top of the broth and discard it. Turn off heat. Use a colander to transfer beef to a wok (or a large dutch oven). Let the soup sit about 10 minutes, then pour the soup into the wok until it covers the beef completely. (There may be some clotted blood on the bottom of pot. Try to avoid pouring it into wok.) Save the rest of the soup in the pot and set it aside for later use.

Step 3

Heat the wok over medium heat. Add Shaoxing wine, chili pepper, ginger, scallion, bay leaves and black pepper (* see footnote) into wok and simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes. The beef tendon should be ready at that point.

Step 4

Transfer beef tendon from the pressure cooker to the wok, and discard the broth.

Step 5

Add curry powder, sugar and tomato paste into wok and mix well. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, until beef starts to become more tender.

Step 6

Add dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and salt into the wok. Mix well and simmer, covered, for one hour to one hour and a half (simmer time varies depending on the cut of beef). While simmering, stir the beef several times. Scoop the beef from the bottom with a spatula, to avoid burning it on the bottom of the pot.

Step 7

After 20 minutes, watch the beef more closely and adjust the seasoning. If the liquid is becoming thick, but the beef is still tough, add more broth (from step 2), half a cup at a time. The liquid should be able to cover half of the beef. However, do not add too much water at the end of simmering, when beef is already soft.

Step 8

When simmering has finished, adjust the seasoning again. The beef should be very tender and the soup quite thick. If the soup is not thick enough, boil uncovered over medium heat. Stand near the wok and stir constantly until soup thickens.

Step 9

Serve warm with steamed rice.

Step 10

The beef stew will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month.

Step 11

To store the beef stew for your lunchbox or dinner during the next two weeks, place stew in a small bowl (2 to 4 servings per bowl) and set aside. After the stew has cooled down to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator, until stew has congealed and can easily be easily taken from the bowl. Store the blocks of stew in individual ziplock bags in the freezer.

Step 12

To make a one-dish meal, you could add beans, potato, tomato, carrot or broccoli into the stew and boil them together, until the vegetables are cooked through.