Slow-cooked Braised Beef Cheeks

Ooh la la...

How I love cows!! Beef cheeks, once well cooked are so teeeeender you can practically eat it with your spoon! Its aroma... ooohhh... simply heavenly. (Ok, I gathered my photo here looks really bad. The rather sophisticated dish looks... erm... like... mmm... chap cai... muahahaha... but looks isn't everything!)

I slow cooked it in my ever-good slow cooker for about 2 hours before transferring it to my CorningWare. Some people prefer to use the oven to slow bake, that's fine too. Have your butcher help to clean up the cheeks and remove the fats or skin. Marinate a day before cooking, so here we go!

Here's what you need:
* Beef Cheeks (I bought 2 slabs; about 500gm total)
* Stalks of Celery (cut to chunks)
* 1 whole Carrot (peeled, cut to chunks)
* 1 whole Onion (cut to chunks)
* 1/2 a round Cabbage
* Spices (I used Masterfoods Garlic Pepper, Mixed Herbs)
* 4-5 Bay Leaves
* Pinch of Salt
* Baking Soda (pinch)

This is what I did:

1. Marinate beef cheeks with salt. Followed by a generous amount of spices. I like to marinate too with a pinch of baking soda. Rub rub rub,... pinch the cheeks! Leave it in fridge for at least 3 hours or like me, overnight.

2. In a pan with hot oil, seal the cheeks with the bay leaves, onions, carrots and celery. Add bits of water, and transfer the beef into the slow cooker. Add just enough water to cover the beef.

3. Slow cook for 2 - 3 hours. In the meantime, go get a life!

4. Test the beef by poking a fork into it. It should be tender; the fork should be able to poke through with ease. Otherwise, cook for another while longer.

5. Add in cabbage and boil it slightly till softened. 

5. Serve with rice or mashed potato. Enjoy!