This is get-in-my-tummy already delish, filling, and just what you need on a cold day.
The beef may be simmered for 8 to 12 hours. The longer the simmer, the heartier the broth. The key is to put the taro, or suni (sue-knee) in Chamorro, and the sweet potatoes in 2 hours before you need the kȧdo done – just remember the beef and bones need to simmer a total of at least 8 hours, but 10 to 12 hours will make it divine. When taste-testing, be careful as this lusciously fatty soup is extremely hot! The step-by-step video will be made soon, but for now the video below gives an example of how to enjoy Chamorro beef soup if you eat one meal a day:
A crockpot will make this dish easier to simmer. But if all you have is a pot on a stove, be sure to keep an eye on it and stir every now and then. Water will evaporate faster on the stove so add just a little bit of water as needed. Add the taro or other roots when you see the meat start to fall of the bones then cook till roots are done.
Common cuts of meat for beef soup are the shank (leg with bone) and oxtail (tail of the cow), but any cut combination with bones (especially with marrow), connective tissue, and some fat layers will be perfect – including beef ribs. If you use tough cuts of meat that are good for slow cooking but no bones or fat, the kȧdo will not be as delish.
If you can find and buy meat from cows that were raised and fed on grasslands their entire lives then you are healthier for it, especially if that land was nurtured as well. I was lucky to find one such place near me in Graham, NC - Reverence Farm.
Taro, potatoes, white sweet potatoes, and mendioka (cassava) are common to add for starch, but local Guam squashes are a fave too including kundot (kewn-dowt) and unripe, green papaya. Kang kong (water spinach) and pumpkin tips are the usual veggies, but so are bokchoy and green beans – all to pour over white rice.
INGREDIENTS
Set 1
3 to 4 pounds beef shoulder roast with bone
2 pounds beef soup bones, bones with a bit of meat and fat on them
3 to 4 beef marrow bones, not much on these bones but plenty of marrow in the middle
Salt
Ground black pepper
Set 2
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
5 large cloves garlic, minced
4 slices skinned ginger
10 cups hot water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Set 3
1 – 15 ounce can stewed tomatoes, drained
3 to 4 small taros
3 to 4 small, white sweet potatoes (white on inside, purple or white on onside)
3 to 4 baby bok choy
Set 4
1 – 13.5 ounce can thick coconut milk
Tools: baking dish, large pot, crockpot
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinse the roast and bones. Pat dry. Place the marrow bones on an oven-safe dish, marrow side up. Roast for 15 minutes at 450 degrees F. This will bring out a nice flavor in the broth compared to just adding unroasted bones.
In the meantime, liberally salt and pepper the roast and the soup bones.
If you have a crockpot that can be used to sear on the stove, use that to sear the meat. If not, use a large pot. Melt the coconut oil on medium heat. Sear the roast on each side to brown very well. Remove from pot and set aside. Sear the soup bones. Remove and set aside.
Sautee the onions and ginger till the onions are somewhat soft. Add the garlic and sautee for a minute. Add the roast, soup bones, and the marrow bones to the crockpot. Set the insert inside the cooking unit of the crockpot.
Pour in 10 cups of hot water. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce (reserving the 3rd tablespoon), 3 tablespoons of vinegar (reserving the 4th tablespoon), a tablepoon of salt, and a teaspoon of black pepper. Simmer in the crockpot for 6 hours on low. Taste the broth at the 6-hour mark. You will likely need to add the last tablespoon of soy sauce and the last tablespoon of vinegar. Simmer another 2 to 6 hours.
Add a whole can of drained stewed tomatoes. Scrub the outside of the taro. Use a knife to slice off the skin. Cube into 1-inch-thick pieces. Add to the soup. Peel the sweet potatoes and cube into 1-inch-thick pieces. Add to the soup. Simmer another 1 ½ hours in the crockpot to cook the taro and sweet potatoes. If cooking in a regular pot, check the roots in about 45 minutes.
Once roots are cooked, cut the bulb end of the bokchoy and rinse each leaf. Add the greens to the pot and press gently to submerge. Cook till the veggies are tender to your liking, about 5 to 10 more minutes.
If there is no room in your pot to add the coconut milk, spoon about 2 cups of broth into a glass jar. Save this for later. Add the can of coconut milk. Stir. Taste and add a bit more salt or pepper if needed.
Effective March 2021, PaulaQ will begin replacing Canola and vegetable/seed oils in recipes with pure lard from Reverence Farm, coconut oil, and avocado oil.
