Onion & Tomato Braised Beef Shin

Why people make this dish

A University of Hong Kong study once found that when you make soup, only about 20% of the useful substances dissolve into the broth, while roughly 80% of the protein and nutrients stay in the cooked ingredients — so drinking the soup and eating the “soup dregs” is the most nourishing approach. Bro Niu made a nice soup with beef shin, green and red carrots, then lifted out the whole shin and braised it with onion and tomato in a little stock — turning it into an appetite-stirring dish. Slow-cooked soup ingredients like pork tripe, trotters, pig tail or oxtail can all be reused this way: one cooking, two dishes, and the ingredients become far more appealing.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Anyone wanting a thrifty, tasty “two dishes from one pot” meal
• Especially gentle for people rebuilding a weak spleen-stomach after illness or surgery
• An everyday dish with no special cautions

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Beef shin (niu zhan): the protein-rich soup ingredient that keeps most of its nutrition; reused here so nothing goes to waste.
• Onion (yang cong) & tomato (fan qie): bring fragrance and a tangy-sweet savour that traditionally helps stir the appetite.
• Garlic & coriander: add aroma and finish.

Ingredients (2–3 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Cooked beef shin	1	from a soup pot, sliced
Onion	1	peeled, finely shredded
Tomatoes	2	peeled, sliced
Minced garlic	1 clove
Chopped coriander	a little
Stock	half a bowl
Ketchup, sugar, vinegar	to taste

Method

1. Slice the cooked beef shin; peel and finely shred the onion; peel and slice the tomatoes.
2. Heat oil and fry the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the onion and fry until golden.
3. Add the tomatoes and beef shin, splash in a little wine, then add seasoning and the stock.
4. Braise for a short while until the sauce thickens, scatter over the coriander and plate up.

Bro Niu’s tips

Even though the cooked ingredients still hold plenty of nutrition, the substances dissolved into the soup are absorbed by the body straight away. So for people with a weak spleen-stomach after illness or surgery, a good bowl of soup is a fine way to keep up their health — and reusing the ingredients into a dish means nothing is wasted.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Ling): Hello Bro Niu, my father has had a poor appetite for the past few months and has lost a size. Any soup to strengthen the spleen and stir the appetite? Bro Niu: Try white radish (1), hawthorn (~11 g), 2 dried duck gizzards (chen ya shen), chicken gizzard lining (ji nei jin, ~7.5 g) and 1 aged tangerine peel (chen pi) simmered with pork shin. From 8 bowls of water reduce to 4–5; the whole family can drink it, with your father taking 2 bowls a day, 3 doses — it helps strengthen the spleen, ease food stagnation and improve appetite and absorption.
• Q (Rita Yuen): Bro Niu, you made a soup with beef shin plus green and red carrots — can I use white radish instead of green radish? Bro Niu: Green radish is best at clearing “coal-gas toxin,” so households using gas should make green-radish soup now and then. For this dish, white radish is fine too — green radish is really just one kind of radish.
• Q (Milk): Bro Niu, I’d love a spleen-strengthening, dampness-clearing soup. Lately my appetite’s poor and my stomach/belly feels bloated. Any affordable options? Can men drink it? Bro Niu: Use kudzu (fen ge) ~600 g, rice bean and hyacinth bean (~38 g each) and 3 honey dates simmered with lean pork — it strengthens the spleen-stomach and drains dampness. These are cheap; cook for 2–3 hours and the soup won’t be too cooling — the whole family, men and women, can drink it.

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Published June 27, 2010 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.