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