Clear Broth Beef Brisket Hot Pot 清湯牛腩煲

Name: Clear Broth Beef Brisket Hot Pot 清湯牛腩煲
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 kg beef brisket 牛腩; 1 kg beef soup bone 牛骨; 800 g white radish 蘿蔔; 9 ginger slices 薑片; 1 tbsp rice wine 米酒; 200 ml chicken stock 雞湯; 1800 ml water 水; 10 g rock sugar 冰糖; 1 tsp salt 鹽; 1 tsp white pepper 白胡椒; 1.5 tbsp fish sauce 魚露; 3 stick spring onion greens 蔥綠; 3 tsp Sichuan peppercorns 花椒; 3 star anise 八角; 2 bay leaves 香葉; 10 g dried shrimp 蝦米; 1-2 segments dried tangerine peel 陳皮（瓣）; 2 tsp chilli sauce 辣椒醬; 2 tbsp light soy sauce 生抽; 1 tbsp beef brisket broth 牛腩湯; 1/2 shallot 乾蔥; 2 cloves garlic 蒜頭; 3 g minced ginger 薑蓉; 1 bird’s eye chilli 指天椒; 3 tbsp hot oil 熱油; 2 tbsp steamed fish soy sauce 蒸魚豉油; 0.5 tbsp clay pot rice soy sauce 煲仔飯豉油; 0.5 tbsp light soy sauce 生抽

Sumter Kitchen February 12, 2024

Servings: 4

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Introduction 簡介

清湯牛腩煲 — clear broth beef brisket hot pot — is a Hong Kong classic. Where the better-known Braised Beef Brisket (柱侯蘿蔔炆牛腩) is rich, dark and boldly sauced, the 清湯 (clear-soup) style celebrates clarity: brisket gently simmered with white radish in a light, fragrant beef-bone broth until the meat is tender and the soup tastes clean and naturally sweet.

清湯牛腩煲係香港經典菜式。相比起濃郁深色、醬香撲鼻嘅柱侯蘿蔔炆牛腩，「清湯」做法以清澈見稱：牛腩同白蘿蔔喺清香嘅牛骨湯入面細火慢煮，煮到牛腩鬆軟、湯頭清甜乾淨。

Hong Kong’s deep love of beef is itself a product of its history. As a colonial port city from the mid-19th century, it drew Western residents, a British garrison, hotels and a busy shipping trade — all pushing up the demand for beef. Cattle were brought in from Guangdong, butchering grew, and beef worked its way into everyday street food: 牛腩 (brisket), 牛雜 (beef offal), 牛河 (beef chow fun), 沙嗲牛肉 (satay beef) and more, sold from beef-offal stalls (牛雜檔), open-air dai pai dong (大牌檔) and later pushcart (車仔) noodle stalls. (Fancy making satay beef at home? Try Hong Kong-Style Satay Beef Noodles or Satay Beef & Vermicelli Hot Pot.)

香港咁鍾意食牛，其實同佢嘅歷史有關。自十九世紀中成為殖民地港口城市，西方居民、駐港英軍、酒店業同繁忙嘅船運貿易令牛肉需求大增；牛隻由廣東輸入，屠宰業發展起嚟，牛肉慢慢融入日常街頭小食——牛腩、牛雜、牛河、沙嗲牛肉等等，喺牛雜檔、大牌檔以至後來嘅車仔麵檔都搵到。（想自己整沙嗲牛肉？可以試吓沙嗲牛肉麵或者沙嗲肥牛粉絲煲。）

Brisket itself was never a prized cut — sinewy and firm, it needs long, slow cooking, which made it perfect for simmering low and slow and for selling on the street. Cooked together with beef bones, the broth turns sweet and the brisket meltingly tender, and over time this clear-broth version grew into a dish of its own — closely tied to Central’s legendary 九記 (Kau Kee), often credited with popularising the lighter, herb-and-spice 清湯 style as an alternative to the older Chu Hou-sauce braise.

牛腩本身唔係矜貴部位——筋多、肉實，需要長時間烹煮，所以特別適合慢火細熬同街頭販賣。同牛骨一齊熬，湯會變得鮮甜，牛腩亦變得軟腍；慢慢就由街頭小食演變成獨立菜式。當中最具代表性嘅，係中環嘅九記牛腩，一般認為佢將呢種以香料藥材吊味、相對清淡嘅「清湯」做法發揚光大，成為柱侯醬濃炆以外嘅另一選擇。

The Star Ingredient: Dried Tangerine Peel 主角：陳皮

Dried tangerine peel is an important aromatic across Cantonese cooking, Hong Kong slow-cooked soups, and Cantonese dim sum. Many people think of it only as a “Chinese medicinal herb,” but in the kitchen its role is much like that of Western herbs such as bay leaf and thyme, or yuzu peel in Japanese cooking — it is there mainly to lend fragrance and to round out and balance the flavours. I also sometimes add a piece of dried tangerine peel to Chinese black tea, for a casual everyday use.

陳皮喺廣東菜、港式燉湯同粵式點心入面，係一種非常重要嘅香料。好多人以為佢淨係「中藥材」，其實佢喺廚房裡面嘅作用，好似西餐嘅香草（bay leaf、thyme）或者日本料理嘅柚子皮——主要係提供香氣同調和味道。我有時亦會喺中式紅茶入面加一塊陳皮，作日常隨意享用。

The ingredient that gives this broth its distinctive, faintly citrusy depth and helps cut through the richness of the beef is 陳皮 (dried tangerine peel). Aged dried tangerine peel is a cornerstone ingredient in Cantonese cooking — the older the peel, the more complex and mellow its flavour becomes. In this recipe, it is used alongside Sichuan peppercorn, star anise, and ginger in the spice bag, contributing a subtle but important layer of citrus fragrance that lifts the broth without dominating it.

令呢個湯底有獨特淡淡柑橘香、同時解去牛腩油膩感嘅，係陳皮。陳皮係廣東烹飪嘅重要食材——陳放越久，味道越複雜醇厚。喺呢個食譜入面，陳皮同花椒、八角、薑片一起放入香料包，為湯底帶嚟一層細膩嘅柑橘香氣，提味而唔搶味。

陳皮 is available at Chinese herbal stores and Asian grocery stores, sold loose or in small packets. Look for pieces that are dry, slightly curved, and have a deep amber colour — darker pieces tend to be older and more intensely flavoured. Before using, soak the peel in warm water for a few minutes to soften it slightly and release its aroma. A small piece is all you need — this is a background ingredient, not a dominant one. One whole piece of dried tangerine peel is usually made up of about three segments (瓣); for this recipe, one to two segments are enough.

陳皮喺中藥材店或亞洲超市有售，散裝或小袋裝皆有。揀外形略微捲曲、顏色深琥珀色嘅陳皮——顏色越深通常陳放越久，味道越醇。使用前泡暖水數分鐘，令其稍為軟身並釋出香氣。用量少但不可缺少——陳皮係背景味道，唔係主角。一塊完整陳皮通常由大約三瓣組成；呢個食譜用一至兩瓣就夠。

The Technique: 汆水 (Blanching) 烹調技法：汆水

汆水 (chyūn séui) is one of the most fundamental prep steps in Cantonese cooking — blanching the meat or bones in water before the main cook. Starting from room-temperature water, bring it slowly to the boil over low-to-medium heat so the blood and impurities are gradually drawn out. This step removes the raw, bloody smell (腥味) and keeps the broth clear. In this recipe the beef brisket and bones are blanched together for about 15 minutes, then rinsed clean before going into a fresh pot to cook.

「汆水」係廣東菜其中一個最基本嘅預備功夫——喺正式烹煮之前，將肉類或骨頭放入水中焯一焯。由室溫水開始，中小火慢慢煮滾，等血水同雜質慢慢釋出。呢一步可以去除腥味，令湯底清澈。呢個食譜將牛腩同牛骨一齊汆水約15分鐘，沖洗乾淨後再落乾淨嘅煲煮。

Clear broth beef brisket hot pot — sliced beef and white radish in a clear broth garnished with red chilli, served with steamed rice and a dipping sauce.

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牛肉