Part Chinese/English lesson/translation.
Part butchery lesson relating to the above.
Part Cantonese beef stew lesson.
Part store review.
All rolled into one.
To start, this is thoroughly via trial and error on my part making 牛腩煲 aka beef (brisket) stew.
Trying to make the stew by buying the western butchery cut of beef brisket results in a inauthentic launch of the desired result. Don't buy it if that's what your goal is. Don't buy from Safeway/Save-on or any other Western butcher of you want the "proper" Asian result.
牛腩 is beef brisket in Chinese. Technically, this is what it is.
In reality, not so much. Why? Because in Chinese, there is no real distinction of the different cuts of the underside of the cow. It's all called the same thing in Chinese. In other words, in English butchery, generally speaking going from front to back there is: brisket, plate, and flank. This is all classified under one Chinese term. Brisket is the breast/chest area of the cow, in terms of western butchery. The cut used in Chinese beef stew is actually known as drop flank or rough flank, closer to the rear of the underside. This is not sold in western butchery stores.
Come here and ask for it. Surprisingly, a younger guy here who spoke English had no idea what I was talking about, and an older lady who spoke Cantonese knew. She understood the different cuts even though they were all the same label in Chinese. She was most helpful.
I ended up with beef plate. Close enough to the untrimmed flank I was really after. Guess how it was labelled in Chinese? Yep, you guessed it!
$7.88/lb. OK pricing.
As an aside, the lady also pointed me towards beef finger meat. Known as 牛坑腩 - another variation of "brisket' in Chinese. This cut would be a second choice for me for the stew. I've done it before with this cut.
It's a factory. Don't expect fancy supermarket decor. It is was it is.
Private parking lot and street parking available.
They do speak English
Cash debit only. read more