Miso-Braised Beef with King Mushrooms

1. Season beef with cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and pepper.

2. Heat peanut oil in a pan over high heat. Add beef and brown for 3 minutes on each side. Turn off the heat and transfer beef to a plate.

3. Let the pan cool slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add butter and melt butter in the residual heat. Turn the heat to medium and add mushrooms, cut-sides down. Cook until mushrooms are light brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes more. Add onion and season with salt; cook onion until slightly golden, 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Pour sake into the pan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in chicken broth, miso, maple syrup, and ketchup, and bring to a simmer. Add browned beef, mushrooms, and any accumulated mushroom juices.

5. Reduce the heat to low or medium-low, cover, and simmer until meat is fork-tender, 2 to 3 hours, turning beef halfway through cooking time.

6. Stir in green onions, chile pepper, and vinegar. Cover and cook for 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Chef's Notes:

Boneless beef short ribs will also work. You can use vegetable or olive oil instead of peanut oil. You can also use any kind of mushroom if you can't find trumpet mushrooms. Any white wine and vinegar will work for this.

This would still be a world-class vegetarian dish if you take away the beef and use mushrooms only.

Editor's Note:

Please note differences in total time and cooking method when following the magazine version of this recipe. The magazine version makes this stew in a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot).