Beef Pares (Filipino Braised Beef)

I was missing Filipino street food today and Beef Pares was at the top of the list. This Filipino version of braised beef is a dish for the masses because it's made from cheaper cuts of beef like brisket. Pares which means Pair, because the dish is paired with the beef broth that it was cooked in and along with a bowl of garlic fried rice, you had a meal for under $1.00. Well luckily for me, beef neck was on sale today for $2.99 per pound. You're more than welcome  to use boneless short ribs for this dish but I like to stay true to the street food aspect of it. No frills... just pure nostalgia.  Beef neck is much like the Beef shank. Plenty of flavorful meat that is perfect for low and slow cooking in an all day bath in the slow cooker. I, however, didn't have all day to wait around for it so out came the pressure cooker. Result? Craving satisfied with a new found appreciation for the butcher that broke down the beef neck. Until the next street food craving....

Beef Pares (Filipino Braised Beef)

Beef Pares (Filipino Braised Beef)

(pressure cooker version)

2 lbs beef shank or neck (will yield about a 1 lb of boneless meat)
2 pieces star anise
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup of rock sugar or white sugar
1/2 yellow onion small diced
4 large cloves of garlic minced
1 thumb sized knuckle of ginger minced
1 cup beef broth (cooking liquid from pressure cooker)
1 tbsp of sliced green onion for topping
1 tsp fried garlic for topping

Procedure

pressure cook the shank for 20 minutes and neck for 10-15 minutes
let cool and hand pull the meat carefully in to bite size pieces
if using rock sugar, set aside the 1 cup of cooking liquid hot and put the sugar in to dissolve
if regular sugar, dissolve it in the soy sauce
heat up a wok or a pan and saute the onion, garlic and ginger
once fragrant, add the beef pieces and saute for about a minute then add the star anise, soy sauce, sugar and broth
reduce the liquid by half then the dish is done. serve hot with garlic fried rice and top the dish with the green onions and fried garlic.
you may also thicken the sauce to your liking with a cornstarch slurry.

Enjoy!