This easy to make slow cooker Asian braised beef combines garlic, ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to create a delicious hearty dish.
I cannot live without my slow cooker. I make all sorts of food in my slow cooker from crème brûlée to loaded baked potato soup.
The vast majority of slow cooker recipes are reserved for American or French foods.
Let’s change that! Let’s add some Asian foods into the mix!
I guess when I think slow cooker, I envision a lot braised beefs, creamy soups, and hearty stews.
You don’t normally see a lot of Asian foods prepared in slow cookers.
Naturally, I had to experiment. I tried out a dish I would normally cook in the oven or on the stove. This is my beloved slow cooker Asian braised beef recipe.
This is a family favorite. I have yet to meet someone that didn’t enjoy this easy recipe!
It is slightly sweet, yet still super savory. It cannot be eaten alone, and it best served with rice, noodles, or made into a sandwich à la bánh mì-style.
Ingredients needed for slow cooker braised beef
I used a variety of flavors unique to all of Asian. As such, it’s not associated to just one country or cuisine.
I guess it kind of encompasses everything, like a melting pot.
The key components are: lemongrass, garlic, hoisin sauce, ginger, rice vinegar and soy sauce.
Just like other braised meat dishes, this tastes even better the following day once the meat has had time to rest and soak up all the flavors of the sauce.
Which cut of beef is best for braising?
I suggest using beef chuck. Beef chuck is a tough but flavorful cut of meat. It has a decent amount of fat and connective tissue.
Through slow cooking, like braising, the tough meat tenderizes. The connective tissues breaks down resulting with a rich, gelatinous tender piece of meat.
Best of all, beef check is relatively inexpensive compared to other cuts.
Other beef cut options?
- Brisket: another inexpensive option
- Short-Ribs: for the ultimate braised beef, but also the most priciest
I don’t have a slow cooker. Can I cook this recipe stove-top?
Yes, this Asian braised beef recipe can be cooked stove-top. Follow the instructions as listed in the recipe.
Instead of cooking in a slow cooker, set heavy bottom pot (like dutch-oven pot), over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot and let simmer for 3-4 hours until beef is tender. Occasionally remove pot cover and stir.
*I have not yet tested this recipe in an instant pot. I will update will results soon.
Slow Cooker Asian Braised Beef
Equipment
- Slow Cooker or Multicooker
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes, excess fat trimmed
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil or grapeseed oil
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 green onions thinly sliced (green and light green parts)
- 2-inch piece of ginger minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 stalk lemongrass cut into thirds and pounded
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup reduced-sodium (light) soy sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge cut beef into flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour. Set aside.
- In a medium sized skillet, add vegetable oil and warm up over medium heat. Once warm, brown (sear) beef in batches. Not need to fully cook meat, you just want to have a nice crust while cooking off the flour. Place seared beef in slow cooker.
- In the same pot you cooked beef, add minced garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant. Add lemongrass and cook until garlic begins to brown. Add red pepper flakes and chicken broth. Transfer mixture to slow cooker.
- In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and Sriracha. Add to slow cooker. Add green onions.
- Cover slow cooker. Cook for 4-5 hours on high heat, or 6-8 hours on low heat. Serve with rice, noodles or crusty bread.All images and text ©The Little Epicurean
Interested in other easy dinner recipes? Try these favorites:
- Have dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes! Spicy garlic shrimp spaghetti is a one pot meal that simply requires a handful of ingredients.
- Stir fry beef with onions and scallions combines the flavors of Filipino bistek and Vietnamese bo luc lac.
- Prepare a restaurant quality meal in under one hour. This soy ginger shrimp dish is sure to impress any dinner date!
I Love my slow cooker too. Great for quick and easy meal. This beef looks delicious can’t wait to try it for my next slow cooker meal
I can’t wait for you to try it Rochelle! I just started following you on Instagram…love your photos :)
I had to make this as soon as I saw it! I made a few mods to make it gluten-free (coconut flour, coconut oil, and liquid aminos in lieu of soy sauce), but I am super excited to try it tomorrow!
Hi Abby! I hope you enjoyed it :) I haven’t tried cooking with coconut flour. Does it add a coconut-y flavor?
Can I make it just in a pot if I don’t have slow cooker?
Hi Paulina! Yes, you can totally make it in a regular pot.
I would love to make this but all I have in my house is lemon juice, no access to lemongrass at the moment. Is it still doable?
Hi Rie, unfortunately lemon juice and lemongrass are completely differently in taste. If you don’t have lemongrass, just omit it in the recipe. I would not suggest substituting lemon juice.
Sounds good, thank you for the quick response!
My husband loved it. I had all ingredients with the exception of lemon grass and rice vinegar and believe it or not it still turned out decent. I used 1 pound of flank beef and cooked on high for about 5 hours. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s awesome, Noelle! Great to hear it turned out okay!
I am English, so can you tell me what are green onions? Are they what we call Spring onions & the West Indians call scallions?
Yes, green onions are also called scallions. They look like giant chives.
Spring onions, mate.
My husband and I just finished eating this!! We were blown away with the flavors!! It is so delicious! I know I may sound like a pig, but I already can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow ;) Thank you so much for posting this amazing recipe!!
Hi Rima, that’s so wonderful to hear! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed it. Thank you for trying out the recipe :)
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and me. It turned out delicious! The only downside was that my boyfriend polished off every last bite so I won’t have any leftovers :) Great recipe!
That’s so wonderful to hear, Tiffany! I’m so glad you and your boyfriend enjoyed it! :)
ive been debating about the slow cooker thing for month. I think I’m finally going to do it so I can make this.
Do it! You can make it before you leave for work and come home to a delicious meal!
This is just delicious. I halved the recipe thinking 3# of meat was too much for 2 people but I’m sorry I did. There were no leftovers! My grocery store did not have lemongrass so I omitted it. Not sure it was missed but wondering what it would have added to the already delicious flavor. Looking forward to making this again. We both said that adding pineapple next time would make this even more awesome. Ok, my mouth just watered!
Hi Ami! I’m so glad you liked! It’s one of my family’s favorites and I always have to make a double batch. No need to add lemongrass if you’d have it. I like it because lemongrass adds a little herbal citrus flavor.
A word about pineapples– Fresh pineapples contain the enzyme bromelain which breaks down meat fibers, thus tenderizing the meat. (Papaya and kiwi have similar properties.) Since this recipe cooks the meat for quite a long time, I do not suggest adding pineapples to the cooking process. You will end up with a pot of mush. If you would like to add pineapples, be sure to add it at the very end. However, cooked or canned pineapples are a different story. They are likely not to affect the meat. I hope that helps!
Great recipe! Flavor turned out nice but the beef wasn’t melt in your mouth. :( I left it on high for 5 hours. Did I leave it too long or not long enough?
Thanks! Keep the yummy recipes coming!
I am going to make this in the slow cooker this weekend – it looks delicious!
Hi MA,
I love it. Thanks.
May I ask if I did not have Sriracha Sauce…and is there any other sauce I could use? Thanks.
Tony
You can simply omit it. I add it to provide a little kick of spice.
I just made this with lean stew beef instead for a lower fat option. GREAT recipe that will be in the rotation now. Cooked up in 3.5 hours on high.
That’s such a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Glad you liked the recipe! :)
Maryanne you’re a lifesaver! I bought a 4lb chuck roast to make chili for my husband (for a date night under the stars) only to find out this morning that it’s not exactly his favourite…
He lived in Korea for two years so he loves anything asian flavoured (and he loves meat!) and this recipe popped up in my Pinterest search so I’m off to make it right now! Hopefully I don’t stuff it up… I’ll let you know!
Thanks for the great recipe!
I have it in the slow cooker RIGHT NOW and it smells amazing! I don’t have enough beef slow cooker recipes up my sleeve, so I’m looking forward to trying this one…I have a feeling it’s going to be a keeper :) Thanks!
You mentioned soy sauce I’m a Chinese, there are many kinds of soy sauce what kind and possible brand did you use as it makes a lot of difference to the taste…thanks
I use Kikkoman Less Sodium Soy Sauce
I’m so glad I read through the comments, as I’ve got some fresh pineapple I thought of throwing in and now I’ll make sure to wait until the end! I’m also using brisket as that’s what I have on hand…I’ve never cut it/cubed it before but hopefully it will work out OK!
I hope it turns out okay!
Can I use sirloin cut in large cubes? It’s just what I have on hand, and what if I don’t have any hoisen sauce?
I used chuck because it contains a lot of connective tissues which is good for long, slow cooking. Sirloin will get very dry and fall apart. I would use chuck, brisket, or short rib. Hoisin sauce gives this dish the sweetness and flavor. I don’t know any substitutes.
Awesome recipe, the whole family loved it. I used 3lbs of Brisket and it worked.
Have you tried other meat, such as Leg of Lamb?
Thanks for trying out the recipe! Glad your family enjoyed it! No, I have yet to try this recipe with other meats.
Hi, I found this page, http://makimy.com/slow-cooker-asian-braised-beef/, and it contains the very same words and images from this page. I also checked other recipes from the site and found that they could also be traced from other websites. I don’t know if you guys are affiliated or not, so please correct me if I’m wrong.
Hi! How important is it to brown the beef and the garlic etc. beforehand? I’m looking to try more of a “dump” recipe and ideally would love to just put everything in the slow cooker without much effort. Any thoughts on what difference this might make? Thanks!
For this recipe, it is important to brown the beef and cook the garlic and ginger before placing it in the slow cooker. It adds flavors. It will definitely change the taste and texture of the dish if you simply “dump” everything into the slow cooker pot.
I think this might be the most delicious recipe I’ve ever seen!! I wish I had the time to make it every day. My boyfriend and I thank you for our new favorite weekend dinner :)
A gem of a recipe! Turned out amazing and will definitely make this again!!
Made this for a dinner party. An easy recipe that’s great to make in advance. Next time, I would drastically reduce or omit the vinegar all together. I LOVED the flavors until I added the vinegar and found the acidity overpowered the whole thing :( A drizzle of sesame oil and scattering of cilantro helped pull it together.
Thanks for trying out the recipe! I’m sorry the rice vinegar didn’t work out for you. Are you sure you used rice vinegar, not regular white vinegar? Rice vinegar is generally sweeter in flavor. Other than that, I hope you give it another try!
Why Chicken broth with beef?
I prefer to use chicken broth because I find it more flavorful. Feel free to use water or beef broth in its place.
Is there a way to marinate this the night before? And can I brown it before marinating?
The meat isn’t marinated. It is seared and then placed in the slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. The beef cooks in the sauce.
If I’m making this for the kids will it turn out ok if I miss out the chilli flakes? I don’t have any, or chilli sauce? Will it be too sweet znd unbalanced without both or should I still add at least one or the other?
Thanks :-)
Yes, you can omit the chili flakes. However, I would not omit the Sriracha hot sauce.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s been amazing each time!! I think next time I’d like to add some veggies to the mix as there is so much juice in the final product. The question is just when to add them in…
That’s wonderful to hear! I suggest adding vegetables like broccoli during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. More delicate vegetables like spinach, peas, and kale can be stirred in at the end of cooking. I hope that helps!
Any idea of this freezes well?
I have not trying freezing this recipe. Whenever I make it, this dish gets eaten very quickly!
I would like to make this in a dutch oven. What would the timing and heat level be?
I made this recipe last Saturday and my family and guests loved it. We made the following modifications.. we used 4 lbs chuck roast and increased all the ingredients by 1/3 except we only used 1 tbsp brown sugar. When we make the recipe again we will eliminate the sugar as there is enough sweetness from the rice vinegar and hoisin sauce. We will also eliminate the salt as again there is so much salt in the hoisin and soy sauce (even with reduced salt). The dish was amazing and we served it with steamed broccoli and steamed carrots. Our 4lbs of chuck served 7 hungry people and we could have used more for additional helpings. Thanks so much for posting the recipe as it is delicious and easy!!
Can you do this in the instapot? If yes how do?
Great recipe,Thanks for sharing it.
The beef was amazing we all love it Maryanne!!! It’s a keeper. Thank you so much for the great recipe!!!
Cooked this last night, sorry no pictures as it was eaten quickly, the house smelled lovely all day as it was in the slow cooker for 5 hours, such an easy recipe will be doing it again Thanks
Thank you for trying the recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! It’s a fam favorite in my house!
Would this work with lam ?
I have not tried it with lamb, but it should work!
I have made this recipe at least 6 times and it is honestly my absolute FAVORITE. No modifications needed (except my fiance likes a little more spicy kick. This usually lasts the two of us for at least 4 meals(8 servings total). Especially if I serve with a veggie. Thank you for such a fantastic recipe!!
Thanks for the recipe.
Great recipe! I made 2 revisions: 1. I added a single star anise pod. 2. Once plated, I finished with a generous squeeze of fresh lime juice. The lime juice really brought it to life, with a welcome burst of bright acidity. Try it!
I have had a similar dish that an exchange student who lived with us from China. It had brown hard boiled eggs in it. Have you ever heard of such a dish? Would love to had her recipe.
This was delicious! I adapted it for the pressure cooker by reducing the broth and thickening the sauce after.
This was delicious!! Made it with pork shoulder as that’s what I had available. Deep, rich flavors that could easily work with chicken as well. I seared the meat as directed and finished cooking the recipe in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours. I added a little extra liquid half way through. Awesome results!
Thank you Maryanne for this fantastic recipe – it is my absolute favourite of all time! What a combination of rich flavours that all came together superbly! I was only missing one ingredient (the Sriracha sauce) so I substituted Sambal (extra pedas) and it still had that spicy kick that you described in previous replies. I also added rehydrated sliced Shitake mushrooms to it as we like mushrooms in everything. This will definitely be my go-to slow cooker beef dish from now on as it defintely beats boring beef stew!!!