Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1.5kg beef cheeks, cleaned
• 2 bunches salad (bulb) onions, trimmed, halved
• 2 long red chillies, halved, seeded
• 6cm piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan pepper
• 3 star anise
• 2 cinnamon quills
• Rind of 1 mandarin, torn
• 1 bulb garlic, halved
• 250ml (1 cup) light soy sauce
• 125ml (1/2 cup) Shaoxing cooking wine (see note)
• 50g yellow rock sugar (see note) or white sugar
• 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar (see note) or malt vinegar
• 10 dried small Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water for 20 minutes, drained
• Steamed white rice, to serve
• Gai choy (see note), to serve

Method

• Step 1 Preheat oven to 160C. Heat vegetable oil in a casserole over medium heat, add beef in 2 batches and fry until browned, then remove. Add onions and chillies, cook until lightly browned, then remove and reserve. Return beef to pan, add remaining ingredients (except onions) and 1 litre water, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours or until cheeks are fork tender.
• Step 2 With a slotted spoon, remove beef cheeks, cover and set aside. Strain cooking mixture through a sieve into a clean saucepan. Return chillies, a few slices of ginger and star anise to pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until syrupy. Break beef cheeks in half, add to reduced cooking liquid with reserved onions and simmer gently until heated through. Serve with steamed rice and gai choy.