Hawaiian Beef Stew

Hawaiian Beef Stew
"Chinese cooks at Hawaiian ranches made stew on an open fire, tossing the less-than-tender beef into a pot of water to simmer all day long, then adding vegetables shortly before the cowboys (paniolos) came in."

 
Ingredients:

2 pounds stewing beef (recommends chuck roast, oxtail, short ribs or a combination of)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large onions
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce (or 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste)
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 large carrots, cut to the 1-2 inch pieces
2-4 stalks celery, cut into 1-2 inch pieces (optional) I add to mine.
6-8 cloves garlic
2 inch fresh ginger sliced in half and crushed.
1-2 bay leaves ripped in half
Hawaiian salt (coarse sea salt) to taste
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Thickener:
4 tablespoons flour or cornstarch
pinch of sugar or stevia sweetener
1 tablespoon soy sauce (light soy sauce)
1 cup water

Preparation:

Finely mince the garlic and half of one of the onions.  Heat the cooking oil in a large pot.  Add the garlic, ginger, bay leaves, and onions and brown.  Add the beef and salt and saute until beef is thoroughly browned.  Add tomato sauce and enough water to cover the beef.  Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer covered, until meat is tender - a half an hour longer (longer for short ribs).

Meanwhile, cut the remaining onions into wedges (six to an onion).  Add the potatoes to the pot and again bring to a boil.  Replace the lid and simmer another half hour.  Add carrots and cook 15 minutes; add the onions; simmer another 15 minutes.
Mix the thickener ingredients (flour, sugar, soy sauce and water) in a small bowl.  Make sure to get all the lumps out. Bring the stew back up to a boil.  Add thickener, stirring constantly until well combined and thickened.  Simmer another 10 minutes. 

Serve on plates over steaming hot white rice with a side of macaroni salad for a authentic Hawaiian style plate lunch!

Make sure you got a big pot before anything else!  The beef stew will be better the next day as the flavor gets richer.  Skim off the fat at the top before reheating portions.

Secret tip: add a tsp of white or apple cider vinegar to the stew so it lasts longer especially if you bring it to the beach and you don't want it to spoil from reheating.  The acidity keeps it under control.

Serves 6 to 8

let's eat kaukautime!!  :D