INGREDIENTS
2 KG - Beef Bones
2 WHOLE - Carrot
6 WHOLE - Green Onion
1 WHOLE - Onion
2 WHOLE - Celery
2 WHOLE - Bay Leaves
2 TBSP - Black Peppercorn
1 TBSP - Black Vinegar
2 CUP - Master Stock
4 TBSP - Dark Soy Sauce
4 TBSP - Soy Sauce
1 TBSP - Brown Sugar
6 WHOLE - Star Anise
3 WHOLE - Bay Leaves
1 TSP - Cloves
1 TSP - Sichuan Peppercorn
2 WHOLE - Cinnamon Stick
2 TSP - Cumin Seed
1 TSP - Fennel Seed
3 WHOLE - Black Cardamom
1 WHOLE - Dried Mandarin Peel
1 TSP - Licorice
5 WHOLE - Garlic Clove
0.5 WHOLE - Ginger Root
SEMI-SCIENCE
2402
So I'm not a nutritionist and I don't know what you like to eat for a portion so... the only thing I can say is if you ate this whole recipe you'd have eaten this many Calories.
Don't do that though!
That's not really good for you and it's more fun to share a meal with others!
This is an IMMORTAL Master Stock! It's also very long.
https://baozi.ca/recipe/master-stock
I was watching videos about a year ago and saw an interesting story about restaurants in Japan, China, and Thailand serving braised meat and stews in master stocks that were years, and sometimes centuries old. This was a completely new concept for me, and my first thought was "no way this sounds crazy". Of course I had to know for sure so I began "researching" this right away!
Turns out this is true (maybe not the century part but who knows)! A master stock if you maintain it by using it every three days (or boiling it every three days), cooling it quickly, and then refridgerating it can last indefinitely! Since then I've done this and have been caring for my stock-child for months now. The first time you use it you'll probably say "Well that wasn't worth all the work", but after each use the meat imparts part of it's flavor into the master stock. Around the third use you'll be amazed and all your hard work will pay off!
I should say that through the course of using it and boiling it, you do eventually have less and less master stock. So you need to replenish it by adding a little more broth for the liquid, and adding a little more of the spices. So in reality this is a bit like the "Ship of Theseus" so it's not REALLY the same master stock you started with over time. I highly recommend trying this out for yourself. Just be sure to keep strict safety standards!
This is a three parter so faster your seatbelts!
PART ONE: THE BONE BROTH
This is going to be the main base of our master stock. You could skip this entirely and use a store bought broth and that would be completely acceptable. In fact the originals of this recipe used water and instead relied on top quality soy sauce for the base. I definitely can't get good soy sauce though, and outside of Asia you probably can't either so let's go the long way around here. It'll pay off!
1) Place your bones in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil a boil for about 10-20 minutes. Skim off any of the foam that comes to the top.
2) Drain the bones of water and give them a gentle wash-off. We're just removing the impurities that might be in them. This will make your bone broth a bit more pure.
3) Cut your carrots into chunks. You don't even have to peel them and the chunks can be any size you like. I go for just a few inches. Cut your whole garlic bulbs in half horizontally (feel free to use more than I did!). Quarter your whole onions. Chop your green onions off at the end of the white part, save the greens for something else though! Place this all on a high-rim baking sheet along with your bones.
4) Preheat your oven to about 235C (or around 450F), then place your tray in the oven. Roasting all of the ingredients for around 20 minutes. After that first 20 minutes flip the bones and veggies around a bit and roast another 20 minutes. Keep an eye on this we want it deeply browned but nothing burnt!
5) Add everything from the tray, and i mean oils and all EVERYTHING, into a large stock pot.
6) Add 12 cups of water, 2-3 inch chunks of celery, bay leaves, whole peppercorns (DO NOT USE GROUND PEPPER), and black vinegar. Cover this pot and bring it to a boil.
7) Once it's boiling reduce the heat until you have a VERY low simmer. The longer you simmer this the better it'll be but you can't leave your stovetop unattended!!! I let mine go for 12 hours, but you could go up to 24 if you don't like sleeping very much.
NOTE: Next time I'm going to do this in a slow cooker because I'm paranoid about running the stovetop for that long. It should be exactly the same if you leave it for the same amount of time.
8) Let this cool on the counter and strain the broth through cheesecloth. We don't want any bits in our broth! Then place it in the fridge overnight.
9) The next day skim off the fat layer that has solidified on the top and discard it.
10) Save two cups of the bone broth, and freeze the rest. You'll need that later to replenish your stock when it gets low!
PART TWO: THE MASTER STOCK
We're almost there this is the easy part!
1) In a hot stockpot add 1 cup of Shaoxing Wine and boil it briefly to burn off the alcohol.
2) In that stockpot put two cups of your luxurious bone broth, 1/4 cup of Dark Soy, 1/4 cup of Regular Soy, and 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar.
3) In a dry pan or wok (no oil here!) place 6 Star Anise, 3 Bay Leaves, 1 teaspoon of Cloves, 1 teaspoon of whole Sichuan Peppercorns, 2 sticks of Cinnamon broke in half, 2 teaspoons of whole Cumin Seed, 1 teaspoon of whole Fennel Seeds, 3 Black Cardamom Pods (Smash those with your knife too), 1 Pieces of Dried Mandarin Peel, and 1 teaspoon of Ground Licorice Root.
4) Toast the above just until you start to smell them clearly in the air and place them into the stockpot as well.
5) Also add 5 Cloves of Garlic and 2 inches of Ginger (Smashing them both with the flat of your knife).
6) Bring this all to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
7) Let cool and strain off everything keeping only the liquid. This is your finished Master Stock! Refridgerate it until you're ready to use it!
PART THREE: USE AND CARE
Now the fun part! How do I use this and care for it so we can have a long lasting ever evolving master stock!
1) When you're ready to use this take whatever amount of meat or type of meat you want, season it with salt and pepper, and sear it in a wok. You're not trying to cook it just getting that browning on the outside. You can use pork, chicken, or beef, but steer clear of seafood!
2) Place the meat and oils from the wok into a slow cooker, and then add enough Master Stock to cover the meat halfway. Let it cook on low for 4 hours.
3) The meat will then be flavorful and incredibly tender! Strain the Master Stock through cheesecloth, and cool it down quickly by adding an ice cube to it. Then place the master stock in the fridge in an airtight jar. I like to put a post=it note on the jar to keep track of when I used the Master Stock last.
4) To keep your Master Stock healthy you must either use it every three days OR boil it once every three days, repeating the icecube and refridgeration trick!
5) With each use your Master Stock will get more flavorful with the different meats you've braised in it but eventually itll start to reduce in volume. When this happens add more of your bone broth, add in the spices again and boil it!
I realize this is an incredibly long and time consuming recipe that might not be for everyone but after a few uses you'll be rewarded with an amazingly complex and flavorful braising liquid that you can toss in a slow cooker anytime!