The first time my husband and I wen to buy groceries after he came back, I suddenly stopped in front of the beef shelf. A voice talked to me in my mind “buy some beef and cook beef stew”. Then I bought beef. Haha.

I cooked tomato beef stew before. This time I’m gonna make a beef stew 2.0. 🙂

1. Cut beef into small cubes. Prepare 3 big rotten tomatoes. Cut a cross at the bottom. Soak in hot water for a little while. Peel them and chop into small dives.

2. Heat a pan. Oil in. Fry beef till brownish. Set them aside.

3. Same pan. Add in chopped 1/2 onion and 3 cloves of garlic. Sauté till aromatic. Add in tomato dice. Sprinkle a little salt and black pepper. Simmer a bit.

4. Transfer everything into a deep pot. Add all beef in. Pour in stock covers all ingredients. Also add in star anise, bayleaf, dried thyme. I also add in 1 tablespoon tomato sauce to make color brighter and 2 tsp sugar. Cover the lid. Simmer for 1 hour and a half. Trust me, your kitchen will be full of incredible smell.

5. Prepare 1 carrot and 2 small potatoes. Cut into small chunks. Add them into the pot. Simmer for another 30 mins.

6. Mix 2 tablespoon flour with water or stock till no lumps. Pour into the pot. Quickly stir evenly to make it rich and thick.

It’s perfect to go with rice or noodles. My husband really really loved it. He finished all rice in a great speed and kept saying yummy.