Braised Beef with Potatoes
Beef braised until tender with potatoes that soak up the sauce.
← Home Tibetan beef curry
Tibetan Curry Beef
Yak beef simmered for two hours with curry powder, potato and carrot until the sauce turns thick and spoon-coating. Adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report — 藏式咖喱牛肉, report 174.
Original poster image from clouchef.com (poster: 藏式咖喱牛肉_174.jpeg). This is the hero poster only, not a step-by-step photo set.
Prep: 45 minutesCook: 2 hours 15 minutesTotal: 3 hoursServings: 1–2Difficulty: Easy–MediumRegion: TibetFlavour: Savoury curry
Home adaptation note: The report is one portion (150 g beef, about 300 g finished). Quantities below are that portion. Yak beef is hard to find outside China; ordinary beef chuck is the home substitute (adaptation) and needs the same long simmer.
Why this works
Yak beef is lean and muscular, so this dish gives it what it needs most: time. It is soaked for thirty minutes, blanched from cold water with wine, and then simmered at a bare tremble, around ninety-five to ninety-eight degrees, for ninety minutes before any vegetable goes near the pot. That gentle heat is what lets the collagen dissolve without the meat shredding. Curry powder is fried on low heat for only thirty seconds, just until it darkens without scorching — scorched curry turns bitter and no amount of simmering will fix it. Potato and carrot go in only for the last thirty minutes, cut to a uniform size so they finish together and can be pierced easily with a chopstick. The final reduction leaves about one hundred and fifty millilitres of sauce, thick enough to coat a spoon, which is the report's test for doneness. Serve it with rice and the thick sauce spooned over, and the whole meal feels complete without any extra dishes.
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Ingredients
| Ingredient | US | Metric | Substitute / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yak beef or beef chuck, cut into 3 cm chunks | 5.3 oz | 150 g | Beef chuck is the home substitute for yak beef (adaptation). |
| Potato, cut into rolling chunks | 2.8 oz | 80 g | — |
| Carrot, cut into rolling chunks | 1.8 oz | 50 g | — |
| Curry powder | 1 tbsp | 15 g | A savoury, not sweet, curry powder, per the report. |
| Shaoxing wine | 2 tsp | 10 ml | For blanching. |
| Ginger, sliced | 0.35 oz | 10 g | — |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | 3 g | — |
| Neutral oil (for frying) | 1 tbsp | 15 ml | Report says 'a little base oil' without a quantity; amount is a home adaptation. |
| Hot water | 3 1/3 cups | 800 ml | Enough to cover the beef by 2 cm. |
Equipment
- Heavy pot with a lid
- Skimmer for blanching foam
- No wok or steamer needed
Steps
- Soak and cut. Soak the beef in cold water 30 minutes. Cut into 3 cm chunks; cut the potato and carrot into uniform rolling chunks; slice the ginger.
- Blanch. Blanch the beef from cold water with the wine; bring to a boil, skim, and drain after about 2 minutes of boiling.
- Bloom the curry. Heat a little oil, fry the ginger on low heat, add the curry powder and fry about 30 seconds until fragrant and darker — but not scorched.
- Sear and simmer. Turn to medium heat, add the beef and fry 2 minutes until lightly coloured. Pour in 800 ml hot water, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat, barely bubbling, for 1.5 hours.
- Add vegetables and reduce. Add the potato and carrot and simmer 30 minutes more until a chopstick slides in easily. Reduce on high heat until the sauce is thick and coats a spoon, about 150 ml remaining, and season with salt.
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Technique: Thirty seconds of curry
Curry powder needs heat to release its flavour, but it crosses from fragrant to bitter in seconds. Low heat, thirty seconds, and a colour that deepens without darkening is the whole skill in this dish.
Variations
- Make-ahead: Braise the beef ahead and refrigerate up to 3 days, per the report; add the vegetables and simmer 30 minutes when serving.
- With rice: Serve over steamed rice with the thick sauce spooned over; the sauce quantity is designed for it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use ordinary beef?
Yes — chuck is the substitute used here. It needs the same 1.5-hour gentle simmer.
Why does my curry taste bitter?
The curry powder was fried too hot or too long. Keep it low and stop at 30 seconds.
Why is the beef still tough?
The simmer was too hot or too short. Hold a bare tremble for the full 1.5 hours before adding vegetables.
Storage
Keeps 3 days refrigerated (beef only, per the report) or 1 month frozen; reheat to a full boil. Add vegetables fresh when reheating if they were stored separately.
Tibetan Curry Beef — Recipe Card
Slow-simmered yak beef (or chuck) in a thick savoury curry with potato and carrot.
Prep: 45 minutesCook: 2 hours 15 minutesTotal: 3 hoursServings: 1–2
Ingredients: 150 g yak beef or chuck; 80 g potato; 50 g carrot; 15 g curry powder; 10 ml wine; 10 g ginger; 3 g salt; 15 ml oil; 800 ml hot water.
Steps: 1) Soak beef 30 minutes, blanch 2 minutes. 2) Fry ginger and curry powder 30 seconds on low heat. 3) Sear beef, add water, simmer 1.5 hours. 4) Add potato and carrot, simmer 30 minutes, reduce to about 150 ml sauce.
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Source note: ingredients, quantities and steps are adapted from the original ClouChef R&D report for 藏式咖喱牛肉 (data/reports/174.md). The report's pricing, margin and marketing sections are deliberately omitted here; no B2B cost is presented as a home-cook cost. The base-oil quantity is not given in the report and is labelled as an adaptation.