Ingredients:

780g beef short rib (1 rib)

1 carrot, peeled

1 plum tomato, halved

1 bunch of parsley, with the stalks removed

2 red chillis, halved

1 onion, peeled and sliced

10g vegetable oil

2 sprigs of rosemary

4 bay leaves

½ bulb of garlic

2 cups beef stock 

400 ml water

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160°C.

Heat vegetable oil in a large ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef short rib and brown on all sides.

Once browned, remove the beef and set aside.

In the same pot, add the carrot, onion, plum tomato, red chili peppers, rosemary, bay leaves, and garlic. Sauté until the onions are translucent.

Deglaze the pot with the beef stock and water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.

Return the beef to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid, and transfer to the oven.

Braise in the oven for 2.5 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

Remove the pot from the oven. Take out the beef and set aside to rest.

Strain the cooking liquid, discarding the solids.

Simmer the strained liquid over medium heat until slightly thickened.

Stir in crème fraiche and whole grain mustard, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

"I always create a stock with my leftover chicken bones.  When you are buying a quality piece of meat, it is worth using up every last bit of it and this soup, using the Sichuan Spatchcock Chicken from the previous recipe, really hits the spot with the Sichuan flavour giving it another dimension.  Or you can use it with any whole chicken carcass such as the weekend roast. The beauty of this is that you can use up lots of random veg from the fridge. As long as you do the base of olive oil, onion + garlic which gives it body, the rest can be a mix.  The below is what I had to hand."

Ingredients:

Leftover chicken bones from the Sichuan chicken recipe card or any chicken carcass

4 litres of water

Extras:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, sliced

1 medium carrot, thinly sliced

1 peeled sweet potato, cut into 2cm pieces

1/2 broccoli, roughly chopped

200g cooked beans of choice (I did borlotti)

100g button mushrooms 

200g leftover roast squash

Toppings:

Parmesan cheese and Nina's Saucy Chilli Sambal (available at Provenance Shops)

Method:

Set a large stock pot to a medium to high heat + add in the chicken bones.  Cover with water, about 4 litres.  Bring to a boil + then down to a simmer for 1 hour. 

While that cooks, start on soup base, set a large frying pan to a medium heat + add 2 tbsp olive oil followed by the sliced onion.  Simmer until caramelised for about 15min adding a little more olive oil if needed.  Then add the garlic + fry for 2mins. 

After 1 hour, sieve the stock.  Remove any leftover bits of chicken from the bones + place to one side.  Add sieved stock back to the stock pot as well as contents of frying pan, chopped carrots + sweet potato. Bring to a boil + then simmer for 8mins.  Then add broccoli + mushrooms + simmer for 2-3mins to cook. Next, pour in beans, roast squash, leftover chicken + check seasoning. 

Serve hot with some grated cheese on top + a spoon of Chilli Sambal.  Store for 3 days in the fridge or freeze.

You can find Nina's Saucy Sauces online for delivery and in-store. Follow Nina for more inspiring recipes here.

Ingredients:

Beef broth

500g oxtail, cut into large chunks 

1200ml water

1 onion peeled and cut into chunks 

1 carrot cut large chunks

1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced

1 star-anise

1 small piece cassia or cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn - optional

1 pinch fennel seeds - optional

3 tbsn light soy sauce

2 tbsn white rice vinegar

½ tbsn brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Rest of the dish:

200g buck wheat soba noodles 

1 egg fried

Few leaves of bok choy 

1 tsp chilli oil (optional)

1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

beef broth 

 Method:

Start with the ox tail beef broth. In a large pot, combine the oxtail, water, onions, carrot, ginger, star anise, cassia/cinnamon, bay leaf, Sichuan peppercorn, and fennel seeds.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours until the meat is tender.

Add soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir well.

Simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and pick the meat off the bone, pass the liquid 

To prepare the dish cook the buckwheat soba noodles according to the package instructions and drain them.

In a pan, fry the egg to your desired doneness.

Bring the beef broth and oxtail to a simmer in a pot.

Add the choy leaves to the broth and cook until just wilted.

Place the cooked noodles into a bowl, pour the hot beef broth over them, and top with the fried egg.

Drizzle with chili oil if using, and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds before serving