Ingredients
450 grams stewing beef (chuck steak or blade steak)
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces
3-4 white or yellow flesh potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
1½ cup unsalted stock or water
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup of dry red wine
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon flour
Salt to taste
Serves 4.
Method
Start Sauté function on Instant Pot on the hottest setting and wait for the indicator to show HOT.
Season the beef generously with salt. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to the pressure cooker, ensuring that the entire bottom of the inner pot is lightly coated in oil. Place the beef in the pressure cooker. Brown for 3 minutes on each side, cooking in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot. Remove browned beef and set aside in a large bowl.
While the beef is browning, mix together the stock or water, Worcestershire sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, and tomato paste.
Add another tablespoon of cooking oil to the pressure cooker. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add celery and carrots chunks and mix well. Season lightly with salt.
Pour in wine and deglaze bottom of the pot by scraping off the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon.
Add bay leaves, dried thyme, potatoes, and the set aside stock or water mixture. Mix well.
Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes + quick release.
While the vegetables are cooking, sprinkle flour on the beef that is resting in the large bowl and give it a quick mix.
Open the lid carefully. Remove and set aside approximately half of the carrots, celery, and potatoes from the pressure cooker.
Place beef and any juices in the pressure cooker. Partially submerge the beef in the liquid without stirring.
Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes + 10 minutes natural release. Release any remaining pressure and open the lid carefully.
Add back the set aside carrots, celery, and potatoes. Stir vigorously to roughly break up some of the softened vegetables to thicken the stew.
Add salt to taste.
Serve with a nice hunk of hearty bread, rice, or your favourite starch.