Beef & Bok Choy Hot Pot

In our house, you get to choose what you'd like to eat for dinner on your birthday. Rebekah chose beef & bok choy hot pot, which is one of our favorite winter meals.

This is so easy, I thought I'd post the recipe. Of all things in my cooking arsenal, I am am worst at red meat. I don't like to eat meat much, so have never been that motivated to learn how to do it well. I do lamb well (because I like lamb), but not really anything else. This is easy, because no real skill is required. The long simmering time makes the beef tender. The flavors blend well together, and the touch of cinnamon makes it so fragrant when it's cooking. So yummy on cold winter nights.

This is not the best photo (it tastes better than it looks here) but we ate it all, so I can't take another picture ....

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

2 1/4 cups water
3/4 cup low-salt beef broth
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/4 cups chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cups thinly sliced bok choy
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrot
2 cups hot cooked wide rice noodles

Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Heat vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add beef, browning on all sides. Add broth mixture, green onions, garlic, and ginger; bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beef is tender. Stir in bok choy and carrot, and cook 5 minutes or until tender.

Serve beef mixture over rice noodles.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups beef mixture and 1/2 cup noodles)

Here are my variations. I use all beef broth instead of mixing broth & water. I don't add oil to the skillet, I just use a little spray of pam. I don't use stew meat, I buy a good lean cut, and cut it into small thin strips, which I think gives it more of an Asian feel.

This recipe lends itself well to make ahead. I usually slice and brown the meat, and store in in the fridge for the day. I chop the carrots, bok choy and onions all in the morning. Then in the afternoon I can just combine everything. I add the carrots for about 5 mins, but usually toss in the bok choy only a minute or 2 before serving, so it stays bright green. I double it for our family of 6, we usually have some leftover for me for lunch the next day.
Not bad re-heated as leftovers either.