Meat the Expert: Asian masterpiece cuts

In my work, I’m often on the road speaking with chefs and butchers. I’m in their shops and eating in their restaurants. I’m seeing some interesting trends around beef. Customers are still asking for it – but more often in the dining room than the butcher’s shop. And while a sizzling steak remains a go-to dish on a night out, diners are looking for greater value.

I’m seeing a lot of smart chefs putting beef on the menu while keeping food costs down by drawing from the canon of Asian classics. On a recent trip to the Sunshine Coast, I visited Rice Boi, a hugely popular Asian-fusion restaurant. When I dropped in, they had a dish featuring Bounty Premium beef short rib – normally seen smoking away in an American pit BBQ – slow-cooked for 10 hours in a rendang-style, coconut-rich sauce. Served with rice, it was a rich dish, all about layers of flavour and the succulence of the beef rather than sheer quantity of protein.

The curries of Southeast Asia are a great way to transform value cuts, from chuck to blade, into exotic, craveable meals. Massaman is a Royal Thai curry that takes hours to gently cook down chunks of shin or shoulder, allowing the spices and coconut to slowly meld. Then there’s kaeng phet nuea, Thai red beef curry, slightly spicier than massaman, made from a paste of blended red chillies, garlic, shallots, galangal, lemongrass, shrimp paste and salt. Filipino food is really taking off here now. This winter, I tasted a delicious kare-kare, a braise of oxtail or other flavoursome cuts, slowly cooked in a sauce made from pounded roasted peanuts, onion, garlic and shrimp paste.

Another thing I love is how chefs find clever ways to make the most of rump. It’s a well-priced cut with a beautiful balance of flavour, tenderness and value. There are five muscles in the rump, with the prized rump cap on top. I visited a restaurant recently that used high-quality rump with a good marble score. It was sliced finely and evenly, with the skill of a surgeon, almost translucent. The slices were seared briefly in a hot wok until just warmed through and lightly charred, then served with loads of fresh broccoli, bok choy and green beans, and slathered in a sticky, hoisin-style sauce.

In New South Wales, I tried a fantastic Thai take on rump. There, the chef grilled moderately thick slices of rump (rosbif-style) to get a good char and bar marks. These were sliced and served with a salad of mint, coriander, bean shoots and lemongrass, finished with a tangy dressing. While beef remained the hero ingredient, the portion wasn’t oversized. Served with a bowl of sticky rice on the side, it was a well-balanced dish.

Then there are dishes like Vietnamese bò lúc lắc, or shaking beef – cubes of rib eye marinated in oyster and soy sauce with loads of minced garlic. They’re seared in a super-hot wok and served with a salad of lettuce, watercress, tomatoes and cucumber, plus a dipping sauce of salt, pepper and lime juice on the side. Or a classic like pad kra pao, where minced beef is fried in a hot wok with holy basil and loads of chillies, then served on rice with a fried egg on top.

One Sydney spot I always look forward to visiting is China Doll. I absolutely love it. They make an excellent Penang curry with wagyu beef shin. Now, shin isn’t the most premium cut but because of the grade of wagyu, it brings deep, rich flavour to the dish and elevates it. If they used scotch fillet, they’d price themselves out of the market. Shin is perfect for slow cooking with coriander root, galangal, lemongrass, chillies, shrimp paste and makrut lime for that exotic aroma, plus coconut cream for richness and palm sugar for sweetness and stickiness.