Slow Cooker Asian Braised Beef

4.87 from 15 votes

This easy to make slow cooker Asian braised beef combines garlic, ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to create a delicious hearty dish. Serve it over rice, noodles, or steamed vegetables.

Prep Time20

Cook Time4

Total Time4 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Servings:

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Equipment

Slow Cooker, Multi-cooker, or Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker)

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 cloves garlic minced
3 stalks 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, ginger, and white/pale parts of green onion. Cook until fragrant. Add lemongrass and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic begins to brown. Add chicken broth and stir bottom of scrape off any pan bits. Transfer mixture to slow cooker.
In a bowl, whisk together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and Sriracha. Add to slow cooker.
Cover slow cooker. Cook for 4-5 hours on high heat, or 6-8 hours on low heat. Stir in reserved green onions, or use green onions as garnish. Serve with rice, noodles or crusty bread.
*If desired, strain out aromatics (lemongrass, ginger, garlic) from sauce. Returned strained sauce to beef before serving.
All images and text ©The Little Epicurean

Notes

Recommended Cuts of Beef: beef chuck and brisket are great options. Short ribs make the ultimate braised beef, but it the most expensive option.

You may omit the following ingredients if desired: lemongrass, red pepper flakes, and Sriracha.

**Reserve the green parts of the green onion if cooking in Pressure Cooker or Stove Top. Use greens of green onion as garnish.

Additional cooking option:

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker: Set cooker to sauté or browning setting. Sear the meat, remove. Sauté aromatics (ginger, garlic, red pepper, white parts of green onion and lemongrass). Remove seared meat to pot. Add in liquids. Attach lid with pressure seal on. Set to low heat for 30 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally.
Stove Top: Set heavy bottom pot (like dutch-oven pot), over medium heat. Sear meat, remove. Sauté aromatics (ginger, garlic, red pepper, white parts of green onion and lemongrass). Return meat to pot. Add in liquids. 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.

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