Stovetop Braised Beef Shank - Jiang Niu Rou

MM found 3 beef shanks at the local grocery store and put me in charge of cooking them. My dad showed me how to braise them Chinese style years ago but I never tried and forgot the details (except about blanching the meat and skimming the water). This recipe skipped the draining part. It turned out delicious - the whole family loved it. And I used the leftover broth to make a beef noodle soup, brown eggs, and enjoying plain.
6/11/22 Made this again and when it was time to eat the meat was still a bit tough. We let the rest sit on the stove to cook another 1 or 2 hours and then it was perfectly soft. This time had the peppercorns and shaoxing wine. Used 5 shanks and increased ratio of ingredients accordingly.
Jan '23 Blanched the beef first and drained before cooking with all the flavors in fresh water. This made skimming it easier. Also used new brand of soybean paste.
Feb '23 Blanched first again. Should try blanching with wine next time.

• 3 beef shanks (next time try more to have more leftovers?)
• 2 T Shaoxing wine (I didn't have this so used sake instead)
• 4 green onions, cut into 2" long pieces
• 1 thumb ginger, sliced
• 1 t Sichuan peppercorns (also did not have this)
• 2 T fermented yellow soybean paste (I used fermented, but maybe not yellow)
• 2 T light soy sauce
• 2 T dark soy sauce
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves (I couldn't find the whole cloves so added a dash of ground cloves)
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 t nutmeg
• dash of cardamom (original asked for 1 black cardamom, optional)
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t salt

1. Blanch the beef: Add the shanks into a pot. Add 4 cups of cold water to cover the beef. Add the onions, ginger, peppercorns and Shaoxing wine. Cook over medium-high heat until it boils. Turn down to medium. Boil for 10 min and skim the foam off regularly.
2. Make the paste: Combine the soybean paste and soy sauces in a bowl. Mix until dissolved into a smooth sauce.
3. Add the paste to the shank pot, along with the rest of the ingredients. Cook over medium-high heat until it simmers. Turn to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 2 hours (until meat is tender). (Range can be 1.5-2.5 hours depending if you want it to fall apart or not).
4. The beef is ready to eat. Store leftover meat and broth in covered container in fridge. Use beef to eat plain (sliced thin, cold), as addition to beef noodle soup, or on top of rice. Use broth to cook vegetables, make a soup, or flavor rice.