Stews in general are the oldest dishes in human history. Ever since man learned to make a fire and cook food from it, braising worked to soften tough meat.
Today, it serves as a comfort food par excellence, giving us warmth on cold days, and being one of the easiest recipes to make.
In this article, we will focus on the black mushroom beef stew, which is a recipe with Asian origins but has already conquered the whole world.
How to make Black Mushroom Beef Stew with an Electric Hot Pot
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours (see tips to learn how to make it faster)
Total time: 4:15 hours
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 400 gr crushed tomatoes
- 300 ml vegetable broth
- 150 ml red wine
- 4 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
- 1 kg beef
- 375 g mushrooms (halved or quartered)
- 125g shiitake mushrooms
- 4 portobello mushrooms
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- For the first step, heat the oil in a large skillet; add the onion and garlic, and cook while stirring for 5 minutes
- Add garlic, tomatoes, broth, wine, tomato puree (preferably fried tomato), and sugar.
- Cut the meat into squares the size you want. “Seal” it in the same pan as the other vegetables so it gets a golden color on the outside.
- Place the mushrooms and meat in the saucepan of the hotpot and pour over the sauce.
- Cover and leave for 4 hours at a high temperature depending on the potency of your hotpot, stirring only once halfway through cooking to rectify the seasoning.
How to adjust the ingredients of the Black Mushroom Beef Stew
For this recipe you can make as many changes as you can think of, that’s the advantage of making stews.
You can add more vegetables, like carrot, bell peppers, potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, zucchini, whatever you can think of.
You can also remove the vegetables that you don’t like, although I assure you that the onion, garlic, and tomato give this recipe a lot of flavor.
You can also use the type of meat that you like the most, in this case, it is beef but you can use chicken, pork, etc.
If you don’t like wine, you can replace it with the same amount of broth or even water.
In this recipe, there are a few mushrooms listed, but if you want you can use the one you like best or use one that is not listed, there is simply no way to go wrong.
What is the purpose of the sugar in this dish?
In this stew, sugar is used to counteract the acidity of the other ingredients.
The tomato puree usually gives a lot of acidity, but the same happens with the juice released by the mushrooms, so it is a good option to add those tablespoons of sugar.
If you don’t have white sugar you can use any other type of sugar, or avoid this step but keep in mind that the flavor will be more acidic.
Is there a way to add more flavor to the Black Mushroom Beef Stew?
The advantage of making stews is that it allows you to play with the ingredients, and also the seasonings.
You can add turmeric, paprika, garlic powder, cloves, bay leaves, or whatever comes to mind.
You can also add a splash of soy sauce or teriyaki sauce. In any case, keep in mind that mushrooms, meat, and vegetables already give enough flavor, the same with wine.
You can also add some grated ginger, or ginger powder to give it an extra kick.
How to serve the Black Mushroom Beef Stew
The most important thing is that you serve it hot, after that you can do whatever comes to mind.
A good idea is to grate some Parmesan cheese and put it on top of the stew when you serve it on the plate since the melted cheese goes very well with the flavors of this dish.
To accompany it, it is ideal to take it with a glass of red wine, or simply with a glass of water. We do not recommend taking it with sodas because they can dull its flavor.
You can eat it during lunch, dinner, or at any time of the day. It would be an exotic breakfast, but without a doubt, it can leave you full for the whole day.
How to store Black Mushroom Beef Stew
To store this stew you have two main ways: in the header or in the freezer.
In the fridge it can last up to 4 days, you just have to let it come to room temperature (less than two hours out of the fridge, one hour is enough) and then put it in covered containers.
In the frozen freezer, it can last up to 30 days. Again you should let it come to room temperature and then store it in a covered container.
You can choose some type of bowl or tapper with a lid, or simply cover it with some type of a plastic wrap or clean plastic bag.
To thaw it, it is important that you do this process in the refrigerator the day before, never let any type of food thaw at room temperature, because it can generate negative bacteria.
Helpful Tips
- Cooking can be faster if you choose to do it in a common pot (3 hours).
- It can also be shorter if you cook the meat and mushrooms fully beforehand, but the flavor of the stew won’t be the same.
- In case you don’t have a hotpot, you can use a common pot and put it on medium heat or something on your stove.
- You can use any type of mushroom you want.
- Wine can be replaced with the same amount of broth.
- The indicated portion is a small bowl, but you can eat as much as you want.
