French Style Beef Stew with Vegetables, No Added Refined Sugar

Method

1. Rinse 300g beef, drain it and cut it into bite sized cubes, cutting across the grain for tenderness.
2. Peel and rinse the carrot, onion and potato and cut them into cubes. Cut the celery into lengths of about two or three finger joints. Rinse the thyme and drain it. Rinse 100g white beech mushroom, separate the clusters and drain.
3. Season the beef with 1 tablespoon seasoning powder and a little ground black pepper, mix well and leave it for 15 minutes.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil and stir fry the beef over medium heat until it firms up. Add 4 tablespoons tomato sauce and 3 tablespoons oyster sauce and stir. Pour in water to cover the meat, season with 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and half a teaspoon salt, lower the heat, cover and stew for 40 minutes.
5. In another pan, heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil and stir fry the carrot, potato, onion and celery over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the white beech mushroom and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, stir fry for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
6. Once the beef is tender, add all the stir fried vegetables, 6 tablespoons red wine and 3 thyme leaves, cover and stew for a further 5 to 10 minutes, adjust the seasoning and turn off the heat.

Tips

• Choose shin, tendon or brisket with fat marbled through, which is what turns tender in a braise.
• Cut across the grain, since cutting with it leaves the meat chewy.
• Add the red wine as the meat firms up, because pouring it in after the stock dilutes the aroma.
• A sheet of baking paper under the lid helps the meat soften faster.
• Fresh thyme can be swapped for dried, and white beech mushroom for button mushroom.