Simple + Quick Hoisin Beef Stew

easy + comforting and done in an hour if you have an Instant Pot

Hi! If you’re new here, on Tuesdays I devote my newsletter to “I Love Lunch” and include an easy lunch recipe for paid subscribers. To me, lunch recipes are especially simple to make and simple to clean-up. Of course you can make the recipe for any mealtime that you’d like! I always include a number of notes following these recipes, including how to make vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free versions and other fun notes/ideas.

How’s everyone doing? Yes, I live across the country from Los Angeles, but I’ve been glued to my phone this past week refreshing the Watch Duty app to check on the fires and air quality in various parts of the city where people I love live. I’ve been donating to GoFundMe fundraisers (here is a spreadsheet with links to fundraisers for Black families displaced by the Eaton fire) and the Anti Recidivism Coalition which supports the incarcerated firefighters who are on the front lines. Also, Ariel Kanter has organized a great raffle fundraiser over on her Substack

Rel's Recs

where all proceeds will be divided between the LA Food Bank and World Central Kitchen Relief Team. The grand prize includes items from lots of great folks in the food community including yours truly. Check it out here:

LA fire fundraiser raffle

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And what does this all have to do with an easy lunch recipe? Not a whole lot, but we still have to eat. And some of us find comfort and safety in cooking, whether it’s just the act of cooking or also in the loving gesture of feeding ourselves and the people around us. So today I bring you one of the most comforting recipes I’ve written in a bit, Hoisin Beef Stew, which I made for the first time about a month ago for my spouse and mother and we all cleaned our bowls. If you have an Instant Pot, you’ll have tender braised beef on your table in under an hour. No Instant Pot? No problem, I offer directions for what to do under the recipe.

There’s no browning or searing here. There are only 6 ingredients (plus salt, pepper and water). This is simple, satisfying cooking. The kind-of thing that can be made ahead, warmed in the microwave, and eaten quickly between tasks on a busy day for a moment of contentment.

Haven’t gotten your copy of WHAT GOES WITH WHAT yet? Love it and want to get a copy for a friend? Bookshop.org is offering all my newsletter readers 15% off through the end of January when you use the code: LOVEBOOKSELLERS.

The full recipe for paid subscribers is below, plus notes if you:

• Don’t have an Instant Pot?

• Prefer chicken?

• Or tofu?

• Want more vegetables than just carrots?

• Hate carrots?

• Want it to be spicy?

• Not into rice?

  

Fastest Hoisin Beef Stew

• 2 pounds lean beef stew cut into 1-inch cubes