Slow cooked beef brisket with berries

Source: Fuchsia Dunlop

Ingredients:

• 750g beef brisket
• 50g ginger, unpeeled
• 1,25 litres good-quality chicken stock
• 75ml Shaoxing wine
• 1tsp Sichuan pepper
• 2tbsp gouqi berries, rinsed
• a handful of chopped coriander (optional)

For the dip:

• 1tbsp cooking oil
• 4tbsp Sichuan chilli bean paste
• 2tsp finely chopped ginger
• 1tsp sesame oil

Method:

Bring a painful of water to a boil. Untie the brisket, add it to the water, return to a boil, then boil for three to four minutes to allow any impurities to rise to the surface. Pour away the water and rinse the beef thoroughly under the tap. Crush the ginger slightly with the flat of a cleaver blade or a rolling pin.

Place the brisket in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or a casserole pot, cover with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Skim. Add the Shaoxing wine, ginger and Sichuan pepper and return to a boil. Then cover and simmer over very low heat or in a gentle oven (preheated to 150C) for at least three hours (some recipes suggest more than give), until the brisket is meltingly tender.

To make the dip, add the oil to a seasoned wok over a medium flame. Swirl it around, add the chilli bean paste and stir-fry until the oil is red and smell delicious. Add the ginger and stir-fry a little longer until you can smell its fragrance. Off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, then transfer the mixture to a small dipping dish.

Ten minutes or so before you are ready to eat strain out and discard the ginger and Sichuan pepper, using a slotted spoon or tea strainer. Remove the meat from the pot to a chopping board and cut into finger-thick strips. Return it to the pot with the gouqi berries for 10 minutes more.

Serve in the cooking pot or a deep china bowl, with a scattering of fresh coriander, if you like. Serve the dip alongside.