Braised Beef with Potatoes
Beef braised until tender with potatoes that soak up the savoury sauce.
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Northeastern Braised Beef Strips
Beef slices layered over cabbage and glass noodles, steamed in a fermented-bean-curd broth, then inverted onto a plate in a neat tower. Adapted for a home kitchen from the original ClouChef R&D report — 扒肉条, report 74.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 扒肉条_74.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 50 minutesServings: 2Difficulty: MediumRegion: Northeast ChinaFlavour: Savoury, fermented, hearty
Why this works
The report's drama is in the unmoulding: beef slices laid flat at the bottom of a deep bowl, cabbage and noodles on top, steamed, then flipped onto a plate so the beef stands in a tidy tower over its own juices. That shape only works if the beef is properly prepared — boiled whole until a chopstick slides in easily, then sliced 3 cm thick — and if the steaming time is respected: thirty minutes over medium heat, not less, not much more. Under-steamed beef stays tough; over-steamed noodles turn to mush and cabbage floods the bowl with water. The flavour hinge is a single cube of red fermented bean curd, mashed into the broth: it gives the dish its deep, salty-savoury character, and the report is precise about it — fifteen grams, mashed smooth, no lumps, because a lump of bean curd in one bite throws the whole bowl off balance.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef brisket or shank | 7.1 oz | 200 g | Raw weight; cut into 3 cm thick slices after parboiling. |
| Chinese cabbage | 5.3 oz | 150 g | Cut into 5 cm lengths. |
| Dried glass noodles | 1.8 oz | 50 g | Soaked in cold water for 30 minutes until no hard core remains. |
| Red fermented bean curd | 0.5 oz | 15 g | About 1 cube, mashed to a paste. |
| Salt | 0.1 oz | 3 g | — |
| MSG | 0.1 oz | 2 g | Optional; omit without harm (adaptation). |
| Light soy sauce | 2.0 tsp | 10 ml | — |
| Cooking wine | 2.0 tsp | 10 ml | Shaoxing wine. |
| Scallion | 0.4 oz | 10 g | Cut into lengths, plus scallion greens for garnish. |
| Ginger | 0.2 oz | 5 g | Sliced. |
| Beef cooking liquid | 10 tbsp | 150 ml | Reserved from parboiling. |
Equipment
- Deep heatproof bowl for steaming
- Steamer — a pot with a rack; no dedicated steamer required (adaptation)
- Serving plate larger than the bowl
Steps
- Parboil the beef. Put the beef in cold water with scallion and ginger and cooking wine, bring to a boil, skim, then simmer on low heat until a chopstick inserts easily. The report's method section says 15 minutes of boiling; its control table says 40–50 minutes — for a whole piece, follow the control table and test with a chopstick (see source note). Lift out and slice 3 cm thick.
- Prepare the rest. Cut the cabbage into 5 cm lengths, soak the glass noodles in cold water for 30 minutes, and mash the fermented bean curd into a smooth paste.
- Layer the bowl. Lightly oil the inside of a deep bowl. Lay the beef slices neatly at the bottom, skin-side down where applicable, then add the cabbage and soaked noodles.
- Season and steam. Mix the bean-curd paste with soy sauce, salt, MSG, cooking wine and 150 ml beef cooking liquid, stir smooth, and pour into the bowl to about eighty percent full. Steam over medium heat for 30 minutes after the steamer comes to steam.
- Unmould and serve. Lift out the bowl, invert it onto a plate, tap the base gently to release, scatter scallion greens, and spoon a little of the steaming liquid over the top.
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Technique: Technique: oil the bowl, flip with confidence
The report's practical tip is easy to miss: brush the steaming bowl with a thin coat of oil before layering, or the tower sticks and collapses on unmoulding. And the steaming window is tight — thirty minutes, with thirty-five as the ceiling — because the noodles and cabbage, not the beef, set the limit.
Variations
- Shank instead of brisket: shank gives a cleaner slice and a firmer tower; brisket is richer. Both are named in the report.
- No fermented bean curd: there is no substitute that gives the same flavour; a spoonful of soy paste is blander and saltier, so reduce the salt if you use it (adaptation).
Frequently asked questions
Why invert the bowl?
The beef starts at the bottom and ends on top, presented as a tower with noodles and cabbage underneath — the dish's signature look.
Can I steam longer for more tender beef?
Not beyond about 35 minutes: the noodles overcook and the cabbage floods the bowl, even if the beef improves.
Do I need the beef cooking liquid?
Yes — it carries the beef flavour into the steaming broth. Water alone makes a noticeably thinner sauce.
Storage
Best eaten fresh from the steamer. Leftovers keep 1–2 days refrigerated; reheat until steaming hot throughout and do not reheat more than once.
Northeastern Braised Beef Strips — Recipe Card
Beef slices layered over cabbage and glass noodles, steamed in a fermented-bean-curd broth, then inverted onto a plate in a neat tower. Adapted for a home kitch
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 50 minutesServings: 2
Ingredients: 200 g beef brisket or shank; 150 g cabbage; 50 g dried glass noodles; 15 g red fermented bean curd; 3 g salt; 2 g MSG (optional); 10 ml soy; 10 ml cooking wine; 10 g scallion; 5 g ginger; 150 ml beef cooking liquid.
Steps: 1) Parboil beef until a chopstick inserts easily; slice 3 cm thick. 2) Soak noodles 30 minutes; mash bean curd smooth. 3) Oil bowl; layer beef, cabbage, noodles. 4) Pour bean-curd broth to 80% full; steam 30 minutes. 5) Invert onto a plate, garnish, spoon over liquid.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 扒肉条 (data/reports/74.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The report contradicts itself on parboiling time — 15 minutes in the method, 40–50 minutes in the control table — so this page follows the control table and the chopstick test. Original poster image: clouchef.com (扒肉条_74.jpeg).