Braised Beef Shanks (Instant Pot)

Braised Beef Shanks (Instant Pot)

Braised Beef Shank (Instant Pot)

Chilled sliced beef shanks is a popular Taiwanese appetizer. You can find whole boneless shank meat at every Asian, usually labeled as whole beef muscle. Since beef shank meat is extremely tough, it will take some time to cook. Using an Instant Pot pressure cook drastically cuts down the cooking time from 4-5 hours if braising on the stovetop to around 100 minutes. Once the beef shanks are finished, they will need to completely cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight. The shank meat is served cold, thinly sliced with a drizzle of sesame oil and a few sprigs of cilantro.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Keyword: appetizer, Beef, East Asian, Taiwanese
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • Instant Pot pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 green onions chopped
  • 3” ginger sliced
  • 1 1/2 lbs whole boneless beef shank meat
  • 1/2 cup light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp dark mushroom soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup shaoxing cooking wine
  • 2 tbsp rock sugar
  • 1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
  • 2 star anise
  • water

Garnish

  • sesame oil
  • cilantro

Instructions

  • Turn your Instant Pot setting to sauté on high heat. Heat up the cooking oil. Sauté the green onions, ginger, and star anise for 2 minutes.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Add in the beef shanks, soy sauces, cooking wine, rock sugar, and 5 spice powder. Pour in enough water to cover the beef shanks. Place the cover on the pressure cooker. Set the function to pressure cook on high for 100 minutes. Push start.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Release the pressure from the Instant Pot.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • Remove the beef shanks from the pressure cooker and let completely cool. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
  • When ready to serve, thinly slice the beef shanks.
    Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
Taiwanese, appetizer, beef
Drizzle with sesame oil. Add a few leaves of cilantro.