If you love Cantonese comfort food, this Hong Kong Braised Beef with Chu Hou Sauce is for you. Thanks to the Instant Pot multi-cooker, you can enjoy tender, juicy beef and sweet daikon in under 40 minutes. No hours of slow cooking required!

watch how to make this dish

what is hong kong braised beef with chu hou sauce?

This is a classic Cantonese dish featuring tender beef short ribs and juicy daikon radish braised slowly in rich, savoury chu hou sauce, a fermented soy bean paste with garlic and ginger that adds deep umami flavour. It’s comfort food at its finest, often enjoyed with steamed rice.

why you’ll love this recipe

Normally, this kind of braised beef recipe takes hours to cook, but with the Instant Pot, you can achieve melt-in-your-mouth tenderness in under 40 minutes!

The daikon releases a lot of water during cooking, which adds a fresh sweetness to the sauce, while also becoming super tender and soaking up all those rich and savoury flavours.

what is chu hou paste?

Chu Hou paste is made from a blend of fermented soybean curd, sesame paste, garlic, ginger, and spices. It has a deep, savoury umami flavour that’s perfect for braising meats and vegetables. Hong Kong Braised Beef in Chu Hou sauce is one of the most popular and classic dishes using this paste.

The most common Chu Hou sauce you’ll see is from Lee Kum Kee, a well-known brand that’s helped make this classic Cantonese ingredient easy to find. You can grab it online on Amazon or at your local Asian supermarket.

ingredients

800g beef short-ribs
5 slices ginger
2 green onions, chopped to 1-inch pieces
2 shallots
1 large daikon radish (around 1kg), peeled and chopped into large chunks
4 tbsp Chu Hou sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
20g rock sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1 cup water
3 star anise
2 tbsp chopped green onions (garnish)

For blanching beef (to remove scum):

3 slices ginger
1 green onion
A splash of Shaoxing cooking wine
water enough to cover the beef

how to make this recipe using instant pot pressure cooker

Fill a pot with water (enough to cover the beef). Add beef, ginger, green onions and splash of shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minute suntil scum and foam appears. This is to remove scum from beef. Drain and rinse the beef with water. Set beef aside.
Using the saute mode of instant pot, add a bit of cooking vegetable oil, add ginger, green onion and shallot. Saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and browned. Then add beef and brown all sides for 4-5 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Add chu hou paste, light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, rock sugar, star anise and water.
Add daikon and spread do over the beef. The daikon will release a lot of liquid so you don’t need to add too much water to the pot.
Use the pressure cook function on High, and pressure cook for 35 minutes.
Once time, release the pressure cooker, take the beef out and slice into pieces. In a serving bowl, add sliced beef, daikon, the sauces, and garnish with chopped green onions. Enjoy with fresh steamed rice.

top tips

Use beef short ribs: They have the perfect balance of meat and fat, which makes the beef super tender and flavourful after pressure cooking. Plus, the bones add extra richness to the sauce.
Cut the daikon into large chunks: Because it cooks under pressure, smaller pieces can break down too much and turn mushy. Bigger chunks hold their shape better while still getting tender and soaking up the sauce.
Must have with rice: The sauce is rich and packed with flavour, so steamed rice is essential to soak it all up and balance out the dish perfectly.

check out more of my instant pot recipes!