Beef Tongue in Tomato Sauce
Beef Tongue in Tomato Sauce is a dish that my wife introduced to me. She used to always order the baked version from Hong Kong-style cafes. My version isn't baked but you could easily bake it if you want to. The beef tongue comes out SUPER tender.
Ingredients
For the beef tongue
- 1 beef tongue
- 5 cloves garlic (smashed)
- 3 slices ginger
- 3 pieces star anise
- 1 cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup dark soy sauce (optional)
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons salt
For the tomato sauce
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 pinch MSG (optional)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
For the beef tongue
- Combine all the beef tongue ingredients in a large pot. Add enough water to completely submerge the beef tongue by ½ an inch of water.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 4 hours. Beef tongue tends to float so I like to flip it every 60 minutes or so it cooks evenly.
- Remove the beef tongue and set it aside for 10 minutes to cool down (you can also run it under cold water if you're in a hurry).
- Remove the tough outer layer of skin from the tongue. I just found a loose part on the sides and started peeling from there.
- Slice the beef tongue into ¼-inch thick slices. I sliced crosswise so that the pieces would be smaller.
For the tomato sauce
- In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 5-7 minutes until translucent and very soft. Try not to brown the onions. You may need to turn the heat a bit lower near the end.
- Stir in the flour until it is evenly incorporated.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beef tongue and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.
For the egg fried rice
- Whisk the eggs and salt in a small bowl.
- Heat a wok over high heat. Add the oil and wait for it to shimmer (it's very important for the oil to be hot otherwise the rice will stick)
- Add the rice then immediately pour the egg mixture all over the rice.
- Use a spatula to fold the rice every 10 seconds until the egg is cooked through. I love it when the rice gets a little bit of browning on the bottom between each fold.
- To assemble the dish, scoop some rice, then ladle the tomato sauce and ox tongue on top.