Do you enjoy K-Drama as well? We do. Aside from the good-looking actors and the well-thought out story lines, memorable scenes for us include food. And one of the dishes that we like is beef stew. We used to eat this beef dish in local restaurants, but since we might not be able to go out for a long time, I made this Korean beef stew recipe. I am sharing this with you, including the cooking hacks I discovered in the kitchen. Homecooking is such an experiment.
Beef Camto Dishes
Growing up, I have always enjoyed beef dishes. My mother would often take out our trusty old pressure cooker to whip up beef nilaga or something during weekends. Moreover, she would make corned beef by big batches to store in the freezer—ready to thaw when needed.
All of them included beef camto, or kantaw in Ilonggo. In English, I recently learned, it’s called flank steak. We like it because it’s tender and chewy, with the consistency of jelly. My mother always included it because of the texture.
When I got older, I was introduced to Korean food and I just love them. One of those that I like is the Korean beef stew with the fatty camto. I am so in love with this dish.
Original Plan
Actually, I intended to cook beef pares. It’s much simpler and I had all the necessary ingredients. However, I also wanted to incorporate sesame seeds and oil in my cooking.
Ever since I learned about its health benefits for menopausal women, I try to include sesame seeds and oil in my homecooked dishes. Hence, my dish turned out to be Korean beef stew.
Korean Beef Stew Recipe
However, I have never tried making the Korean Beef Stew Recipe at home. Nor have I used a pressure cooker myself. This is my first time actually, and my mother in law’s cooker doesn’t look like the one I grew up with. When I opened the box, I was taken aback because it looked like a robot. Haha
With some research and as well as my palate’s memory of this dish, I re-created it as we stay at home for the Covid-19 quarantine.
Actually, this new normal that Covid-19 has brought upon us found me oftentimes in the kitchen, preparing something in the kitchen. Will write more about it next time. For now, here’s how to replicate the Korean Beef Stew.
Ingredients:
- Cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 pcs. Star anise
- 1 Kg beef camto (flank steak)
- 3-4 cups water
- Teriyaki sauce + Soy Sauce + Fish Sauce (or merely soy sauce)
- Sugar + honey or syrup (or just sugar) – about 4 Tbsps. in all
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Cayenne pepper (about 3 dashes)
- ½ beef cube
- Sesame seeds (about 2 tsps)
- Sesame oil (about 2-3 Tbsps.)
- 2 Tbsps. Cornstarch dissolved in a bit of broth
- 2 Tbsps. Sliced green onions
Kitchen Hack
Cooking Tip: Pick out beef camto, which, if I looked up online, is called flank steak. It’s not just those shreds of beef, but it has fatty parts and cartilage that makes for the interesting texture of this dish.
Kitchen tool needed: Pressure Cooker
Procedure:
In the pressure cooker, heat cooking oil and saute the garlic and onion for about a minute. Add the star anise and beef.
Stir-fry for a few minutes in order to sear the beef on all sides. This should let the juices come out and be cooked.
Pour in the water, 3-4 cups should be enough. You don’t have to submerge the beef so much, as not much liquid will evaporate during pressure cooking. Plus, the volume of the beef with reduce.
Pressure cook the beef for about 13-15 minutes at 15 lbs pressure. If your cooker doesn’t have a gauge, start timing when it starts boiling.
When the pressure had gone done to zero, open the cooker and adjust seasonings. In my case, I used another pan because the cooker is too high for me to reach.
The beef is basically cooked at this point but just needs seasoning. If you are happy with the flavor, stir in the cornstarch and the green onions. Serve hot.
Kitchen Hack
Cooking Tip: I wanted to make this Korean Beef Stew recipe according to the recipes I have read online. However, it didn’t really taste like what we usually have in restaurants. It’s tender and fatty, but hubby said that it lacked “umami”. But since we didn’t have MSG on hand, I re-adjusted seasonings and eventually came up with all those I listed above, including the beef cube. Cooking is really by taste. Adjust and re-adjust until you reach the flavor that you like. This is what happened with my Korean beef stew that hubby and I both approved.
Additionally, use the green onions sparingly. It’s only for garnish and a little aroma but you don’t want it overpowering the aroma and flavor of sesame oil.
By the way, I want to remind you to always wash your hands very well after handling raw meat and seadfood.
When I Got Beef Camto During Quarantine
I had my meat delivered by The Butcher’s Daughter. I just specified the parts I needed and they gladly accommodated. They are now catering meat delivery during the Enhanced Community Quarantine period, however, they might continue the service. People won’t be going so much until a cure for Covid-19 has been found so if it’s not necessary, it is still best to stay at home. Send them a text message at (0977) 746 8716.
Other homecooking recipes
Meanwhile, you might find my other homecooking recipes interesting. Check the links below.
- Arroz Caldo Recipe: How to Liven Up This Comfort Food
- Easy to Cook Homemade Pork Sisig Recipe
- DIY Shabu-shabu Hot Pot Recipe for the Family
- How to Cook KBL (Kadyos, Baboy, Langka): Ilonggo Comfort Food
- Health Benefits of Oyster Mushrooms + Recipe
- Suaje on the Rocks Recipe
- Creamy Baked Scallops with with Sliced Potato Recipe
- Balut Recipes for the Craving Mama
- Cha Misua | Chinese Birthday Misua Recipe
- Baked 40-Clove Garlic Chicken Recipe (Modified)
- Cooking with Crab Fat Paste (Aligue)
- Cooking with Chorizo | Cocina Estella Spanish Chorizo
- Shrimp Etouffee: A Cajun Seafood Recipe
Thanks for sharing this recipe ..Another recipe na surely will while watching Kdramas😍😍
Omggg!!! Another Korean Recipe na ma-eenjoy ng buong fam. Thanks for sharing Mommy Sig.