Slow Cooker Chinese Beef Stew with 5 Spice
This Chinese 5-spice beef stew is a super easy and delicious slow cooker recipe. It requires less than 30 minutes of hands-on prep work and is full of warm and comforting flavors.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Slow Cooker Chinese Beef Stew with 5 Spice
Come colder and shorter days, I feel like I’m not alone when I say that all I want to eat is warm, brothy and soul-warming foods. Nothing is better than cuddling up on the couch with a good rom-com and a big bowl of soup or stew. Are you with me?
One of my favorite things about a stew (and basically all other slow cooker recipes) is that it almost always tastes better the next day. Which means that it’s a great make-ahead recipe or double-batch recipe (if your slow cooker can handle it of course). And seriously, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t like a stew so it’s the perfect thing to serve guests and/or family.
I’m sure you’ve all had beef stew at some point in your life (if you’ve ended up here, at least) but this one is different. And different in a great way, that is. It’s full of classic stew flavors such as brothy onions and carrots, but also new flavors such as Chinese 5-spice, scallions and sesame.
The 5-spice is a little sweet and spicy and is utterly sublime with the tender chunks of beef and vegetables. If you love 5-spice, I’d also recommend trying this Clean Eating Beef Stir-fry or 5-Spice Meatloaf with Apricot Ginger Glaze.
You can play around with the garnishes depending on what you do and don’t like. And I promise you that even the pickiest of eaters at the table will enjoy the broth and vegetables as the Chinese 5-spice isn’t too overpowering.
Key Ingredients For This Recipe
Stew Beef
Look for beef chuck or shoulder and cut it into 1-inch chunks or you can purchase “stew meat” that is already cut. If you can find it I’d recommend getting grass-fed beef.
Chinese 5-spice
This spice is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a mixture of 5 different well-known spices such as cinnamon (more specifically, Chinese cinnamon), fennel, star anise, cloves and ginger. 5-spice can be found in the spice aisle but you can also easily make your own.
Dry sherry or Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine is a type of Chinese cooking wine (pronounced shou shing) that’s made from rice. You can look for it in the Asian cooking aisle or use a dry sherry instead.
Arrowroot powder
Arrowroot powder is a type of gluten and grain-free starch that has a similar thickening component to cornstarch. You can use cornstarch for this recipe instead if you can’t find arrowroot powder.
Additional Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided (plus more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil, divided
- 1 large onion, large dice
- 4-ounces sliced fresh mushrooms, such as shiitake or white
- 1 32 ounce box chicken broth
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 1 large russet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or pure dark maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Garnishes
- Toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions, mung bean sprouts (optional)
Step-by-Step Instructions To Make 5-Spice Beef Stew
Step 1: Sear beef
Pat meat dry with clean paper towels. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add meat in a single layer, and cook, undisturbed, until seared and browned on the bottom, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn beef pieces over with tongs and sear well on a second side, about 4 minutes.
Stir beef and continue cooking until mostly browned and the pan is starting to darken with fond, 2 to 4 minutes more. Scrape the beef into a large slow cooker and return the skillet to the heat.
Step 2: Cook onions & mushrooms
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add onion, mushrooms and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often until the mushrooms and onions are browning, and starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
Add 5-spice powder and stir to coat. Cook, stirring until fragrant. Add sherry (or shaoxing) and stir up any browned bits from the skillet. Add broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Pour the mushroom mixture into a slow cooker.
Step 3: Add all ingredients to slow cooker
Add carrots, celery, potato, coconut sugar and crushed red pepper to the slow cooker, stir and cover. Plug in the slow cooker and set to low for 6 1/2 hours or high for 4 1/2.
Step 4: Add arrowroot powder
30 minutes before timer goes off, stir together ¼ cup cold water and arrowroot in a small dish. Stir arrowroot slurry into the stew, stirring constantly. Cover and allow to finish cooking the remaining 30 minutes.
Step 5: Garnish & serve
Serve Chinese beef stew in bowls with optional garnishes on top.
FAQs and Expert Tips
You can prep the beef stew in the morning and enjoy it for dinner that same night! Since stew is one of the best left-over foods on earth you can also make it the day before and chill until ready to serve. Just garnish right before serving.
Grass-fed beef has less marbling or intramuscular fat than corn-fed beef, so it can dry out if cooked too long or too hot. It’s best to use the low setting for 6 1/2 hours particularly if your crockpot runs hot or is large. For conventional beef, you can use either high for 4 1/2 hours or low for 6 1/2 hours, but if you notice your crockpot is rapidly boiling, turn it to low.
Searing the meat will help it develop a rich caramel flavor. Make sure your skillet is hot and the meat is dry before searing. If meat was vacuum sealed (cryovac) and thawed, drain and pat dry with paper towels first.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll stay good for about 3 to 4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. Freeze leftover stew for up to 2 months.
Additional Recipes to Try
- This Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Burgundy screams warmth and comfort.
- Wrapping this Beef Barbacoa in corn tortillas is a must.
- I’ve loaded this Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Coconut Soup up with veggies and rice noodles.
- As far as stove-top stews, this Chickpea Stew is perfect for Meatless Monday.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintChinese 5 Spice Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Total Time: 4 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
Description
Slow cooker beef stew with carrots, potatoes and onions. This hearty stew has the addition of shiitake mushrooms and Chinese 5-spice powder. Top bowls with fresh mung bean sprouts, scallions and sesame seeds for garnish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef stew meat (1-inch chunks)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided (plus more to taste)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or avocado oil, divided
- 1 large onion, large dice
- 4–ounces sliced fresh mushrooms, such as shiitake or white
- 1 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice
- 1/2 cup dry sherry or shaoxing wine
- 1 32 ounce box chicken broth
- 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 1 large russet potato (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or pure dark maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
Garnishes
- Toasted sesame seeds, chopped scallions, mung bean sprouts (optional)
Instructions
- Pat meat dry with clean paper towels. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat in a single layer, and cook, undisturbed, until seared and brown on the bottom, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn beef pieces over with tongs and sear well on a second side, about 4 minutes. Stir beef and continue cooking until mostly browned, and the pan is starting to darken with fond, 2 to 4 minutes more. Scrape the beef into the insert of a large slow cooker and return the skillet to the heat.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add onion, mushrooms and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often until the mushrooms and onions are browning, and starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 5-spice powder and stir to coat. Cook, stirring until fragrant. Add sherry (or shaoxing) and stir up any browned bits from the skillet. Add broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Pour the mushroom mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add carrots, celery, potato, coconut sugar and crushed red pepper to the slow cooker, stir and cover. Plug in slow cooker and set to low for 6 ½ hours or high for 4 1/2. (See Note)
- Thirty minutes before the timer goes off, stir ¼ cup cold water and arrowroot in a small dish. Stir arrowroot slurry into the stew, stirring constantly. Cover and allow to finish cooking the remaining 30 minutes.
- Season with additional salt to taste and serve stew in bowls with garnishes on top.
Notes
Make Ahead, Freezing and Leftovers
You can prep the beef stew in the morning and enjoy it for dinner that same night! Since stew is one of the best left-over foods on earth you can also make it the day before and chill until ready to serve. Just garnish right before serving. For leftovers, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll stay good for about 3 to 4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. Freeze leftover stew for up to 2 months.
A Note About Slow Cookers
The high and low settings of slow cookers vary. If you have a large slow cooker (particularly Crockpot Brand) use low heat. Smaller crock pots will be full so they may not come to temp as quickly on low so it is best to use the high heat setting. If you notice your pot is boiling rapidly reduce the setting to low.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 690 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 26 g
Hi,
I was looking for this recipe all the day , actually this weekend was a pretty much free for me so I wanted to spend my time on cooking , yeah I tryed it and it worked great , By the way thanks for this recipe
Just checking the amount of Potatoe…it says to use 1 x 1 pound Potatoe. Is that 1 Potatoe? Or 1 pound of Potatoe? Thanks!
Hi Dee. Use one pound of potatoes. To explain further, if you’re using conventional produce, a large russet is usually around a pound. But if you are buying organic or locally grown potatoes, often they are smaller. In that case just weigh out 1 pound to get the right amount of potatoes for this recipe. Hope that helps.
Many thanks Katie!
This stew was filled with intense flavor and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe although it took a bit longer than expected.
Thank you so much for coming back to report Scott! I really appreciate it. Have a great day.
Thanks for sharing! I’m hoping we don’t have one more cold snap, but we probably will before spring is here for sure. Looks delicious.
I have this recipe simmering in the slow cooker right now. The 5 spice adds a fun an unexpected twist and it smells absolutely divine. Thank you for the recipe!
hi! Thanks for this gorgeous recipe! Is the coconut sugar added with the carrots etc?
Thanks so much Ivy, and yes add it with the carrots etc. Have a great day!
Yum! A timely recipe for Chinese New Year which starts on the 19th! (Love Chinese Five Spice!) For Presidents’ weekend when I taught at Friendsy, we went with a bunch of family and friends to the Poconos. Lots of fun and gossip and outdoor sports.
Thank you for the reminder about Chinese New Year. Timely indeed! That trip to the Poconos sounds like a fun tradition Debbie.
Can we say flavour explosion? This looks absolutely delicious! Sorry to be redundant but GORGEOUS photos!
You are so kind Arman. I appreciate your compliment. And yes, I am sort of a flavor hound. 🙂
I’m a vegetarian but I can appreciate all the flavours going on in here! Five spice is wonderful during the winter because it just adds warmth to everything!
Hi Genevieve. So kind of you to come comment even though you don’t eat meat. I am betting a vegetarian version of this would be pretty amazing too! I appreciate the visit.
I love slow cooker recipes!
Me too, thanks so much for stopping by Kristi.
We are having a pretty warm winter here in Georgia, so far anyway. Even so, I would love to come home to a bowl of this delicious stew. I can just imagine the flavors, Chinese 5 spice rocks!
I love arriving home to a slow cooker with dinner ready to go, no matter the season.
This looks heavenly! We don’t make a lot of Chinese food at our house, but I always think it looks so good! My husband would love this one.
Thank you Britney. It is a good one for the uninitiated. No wok required 😉
This recipe is the perfect excuse for me to pull out and use my slow cooker. Love how healthy, easy and delicious it is!
It was tempting to add other ingredients to it, but I wanted to make sure it was easy, so I held back. I am glad that it is inspiring! Have a great day Thalia.
I am such a cold wimp – all your talk of “skating, tobogganing, skiing and sledding” has me freezing – now if only I could dip my spoon into the screen and grab a big dose of warming stew! Love the tip to sear the beef first – I don’t eat beef often – but Im thinking I need this tip the next time I make chicken soup!
Absolutely, chicken is better that way too. The winter sports– that’s how we survive! Otherwise the winter would be endless.
That photo of the sunset looks gorgeous! I do miss winter-scapes out here in the Bay Area! I could imagine how lovely this beef stew would be on a cold night. Pinned!
Thanks so much for pinning Lisa. And yes the seasons changing is a wonderful thing.
i agree. It’s not cold here at the moment, but I love a good bone warming stew full of flavor and spice. That’s what makes me love the cold… on occasion! haha.
Ha! I bet Lindsay:)