A mere whiff of the enticing aroma of this dish is enough to transport me to Hong Kong, the birthplace of this Cantonese dish. ‘Ngau Lam’ has never disappeared from my priority list of ‘must-have-foods’ when in Hong Kong, and if I happen to have this dish anywhere else, my mind is instantly flooded with taste bud-tingling memories of savouring its rich flavours by the busy streets of Hong Kong.
This dish is an example of how cheap ingredients can be turned into culinary wonders, and here we’re using cheap beef briskets, which comes with tough sinews and fats. This cut of meat is from the breast or lower chest of the beef, and hence it contains a lot of connective tissues. Due to this, the meat has to be cooked correctly to ensure that we achieve our aim of tender, succulent meat. The idea is to cook the meat with the fats, sinew and tendons, which creates a rich sauce base once it ‘melts’. This is because the collagen in the connective tissues will gelatinize, tenderising the meat in the process and presenting us with gravy fit for royalty.
Of course this dish doesn’t get its magic from the beef alone. The key ingredients of this dish are star anise and cinnamon sticks, which are a rather magical combination as evidenced by the extremely delightful flavours from the final result. Together, these two ingredients introduce an interestingly irresistible flavour to the beef, without abandoning the subtle layers of tastes from all the other ingredients added.
Though they are commonly served with noodles, you can also have ‘Ngau Lam’ with noodles or with a bowl of rice! Tuck into these during a cold day, and you’ll be glad you decided to make this after all.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 hours
Serves: 4
1kg beef brisket, roughly cut to bite size
200g beef tendon, boil beef tendon in hot water for 30 minutes to remove any unsightly smell
1 teaspoon cekur roots*, skin removed and finely sliced
1 teaspoon preserved bean paste (tau cheong)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon rock sugar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
500ml water
1 teaspoon corn flour mixed with 2 teaspoon warm water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
a dust of black pepper
Garnish with cilantro leaves
1. In a large claypot, add vegetable oil and heat over high heat
2. Add cekur roots and lightly fry until fragrant
3. Reduce heat to low and add beef brisket, beef tendon, star anise, cinnamon stick, oyster sauce, rock sugar, preserved bean paste and water
4. Mix ingredients well with a wooden spatula and close lid
5. Simmer over low fire for 3 hours or until sauce is reduced by 1/4 and meat is tender
6. Remove lid and add black pepper and diluted corn flour
7. Stir ingredients through and cover the lid for further 5 minutes
8. Serve dish straight from the stove onto a bowl of steamed white rice
9. Garnish with cilantro leaves
* If cekur roots is unavailable, use ginger
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