Slow Cooker Asian Beef

Slow Cooker Asian Beef

This crockpot Asian beef is an easy recipe for an Asian cuisine-style pulled beef. And that's the brother of Pulled Pork, the well-known recipe for pulled meat that you eat on a sandwich or with fries. Besides Pulled beef, it is also called shredded beef.

Often American style is made with barbecue sauce, but there are also other variants. Seasoned with Mexican spices and seasonings, it is served with burritos, tacos, or enchiladas.
There is Yukgaejang in Korea, which is a delicious meal soup with Pulled beef or pulled chicken.

Full of Flavor

And the variant in this recipe has a tad of Asian flavors. It is therefore also delicious with some rice and stir-fried vegetables, steamed broccoli florets, or a salad.
I made it for my family, and it became a family favorite. The sauce flavors were so delicious, and the beef was really tender. The whole family loved it, and the kids kept asking for another serving. So I say this recipe is one of our favorite Asian beef recipes right now.

And if you like Asian-inspired slow cooker recipes, try this Mongolion Beef Recipe. One of my favorite Asian foods and a great recipe. With these easy recipes, you don't need Chinese takeout anymore.

What do you need for crockpot Asian braised beef?

To prepare this slow cooker Asian beef, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

• Oil - Use neutral vegetable oil for this recipe
• Onion - Yellow onion will give a wonderful flavor to the sauce. You could substitute it with a shallot for a bit of extra spice.
• Garlic - Squeezed, flavors the sauce.
• Tamarind pulp - This is a fruit with a sour taste. It is used in stews to tenderize the meat (just as vinegar or lemon juice would). Tamarind pulp is used for this recipe. You could replace it with a tablespoon of lemon juice and brown sugar.
• Chili Paste - In the Dutch / Indonesian kitchen, Sambal Oelek or Sambal Badjak is used as the spice in this recipe. You can also use buffalo sauce, adobo sauce, chipotle pepper, or sriracha to make it spicy. Or use ¼ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. Add more chili paste if you like it spicy.
• Brown sugar - Sweetens the sauce and adds a bit of caramel flavor.
• Worcestershire sauce - is a liquid brown sauce that is tangy and has some umami. This sauce contains anchovies, so if you can't or won't eat fish, don't use it or use a vegan version.
• Kecap Manis - Use Kecap Manis or Kecap Medja for this recipe. This gives a delicious, sweet taste to the soy chicken. If you only have light soy sauce (or dark sauce) but still want a sweet taste. Then add two tablespoons of honey to ⅓ cup (80 ml) of soy sauce.
• Sweet chili sauce - Gives the sauce a bit of spice and sweetness; if you like spicy slow cooker meals, add a sliced red pepper.
• Beef stock - Make a homemade beef broth or use cubes and dissolve them in hot water.
• Beef - Boneless chuck roast is used in this recipe. But you can also use a round roast (top or bottom), flank steaks, or tri-tip roast for this Italian beef stew. This meat needs a lot of stewing time, so it has time to absorb all the flavors well and, at the same time, become wonderfully tender.

How to prepare Asian Slow cooker beef

You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.

1. Heat oil in a skillet and fry the onion, tomato paste, and garlic. Add the tamarind, sambal, sugar, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and stir-fry until the sauce thickens. Place the contents of the skillet in the slow cooker.
2. Add the beef stock and meat. Mix well and turn the crock pot on Low and let it cook for 6 to 8 hours. 
3. Pull the tender beef with two forks.
4. The pulled beef is ready.

It looks beautiful garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, but this is entirely optional.

Top Tips

• Baking meat: In many crockpot recipes, you see that you fry the meat for a while before adding it to the slow cooker. I like that it, most of the time, gives extra flavor. But with all the flavors you add to this recipe, you won't notice the difference.
• Slow cooker setting and time: Set the slow cooker to low and let the meat cook for 6 to 8 hours. If you set the slow cooker to high, the meat will be ready in 4 - 6 hours.
• Serve with: This is delicious with a sandwich and fries. And because you use Asian ingredients here, this is also delicious with cooked white rice, brown rice, or Udon noodles and a cucumber salad.