If there’s one food I can eat at least five nights in a row, it’s my grandmother’s stew. Usually when she visits, I look forward to her humorous character and great massages. But this time, my mouth was excited for stew. There are many variations of this dish, but her’s (not being biased) totally blows me away.
Stew is a comfort food, a greatly enjoyed meal. In fact, I have eaten it for my last four out of six meals! My grandmother (I call her Popo) makes a stew consisting of carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, celery, turnips, and beef. Over rice, this combination is heaven to me. A little hot sauce never hurts either, for it twists the already delicious gravy into something even better.
Almost every time Popo visits us, she whips up this yummy dish, but never before have I thought it was so delicious. In addition, she makes so much of it that it probably lasts us one and a half weeks. My parents don’t even have to ask what I’d like for lunch and dinner. “Nate, I’m heating up stew for you,” says my mom.
Want me to clue you in on my grandmother’s magic touch to the dish? She drops star anise spices into the stew, which skyrockets the already flavorful broth.
Since I’m on break this week, I have a lot of free time to do whatever I want. But one thing’s for sure, I’m definitely going to be savoring the stew.
NATE'S FOOD BLOG 
Why are you on break Nate, didn’t school just start? Also, your Popo makes stew and gives massages? Do you eat that stew while getting a massage? Because that sounds amazing. If that was a restaurant, I would go all the time.
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Curious, do you use Sriracha or does your Popo make her own hot sauce?
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Lovely photo! Is the sauce tomato based?
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Looks very delicious! Can you share her recipe please?
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Thanks Nate. Maybe I will try to make it and you may have to be the taster to see how it compares.
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I love stew, too! It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. I’ve tried different recipes but I haven’t found one I really enjoy. Does your Popo have a recipe? P.S. I like to splash worchestershire sauce on mine.
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ATTENTION EVERYONE, IF YOU WANT THE RECIPE FOR MY POPO’s stew, I have it right here. It generally takes around 1 1/2 hour, so please be aware of that. Anyways enjoy! If you have any questions, please ask me.
Stew Recipe
Ingredients:
-4 lbs cut boneless chuck (stew meat)
-5 tomatoes
-3 large onions
-2 stalk celery
-2 small turnips
-5 large carrots
-3 medium red potatoes
-some english parsley tied in a bundle
-1/2 head cabbage
-1-2 star anise spices
-about 6-8 cups of water
-1 can tomatoes
-1 can of tomato sauce
How To Make It:
1. Lightly flour the beef with flour, salt, and pepper
2. In a pan, put olive oil, ginger, and garlic. Then brown meat a batch at a time.
3. As you brown each batch, you put it in a pot to cook stew.
4. Add the 5-6 cups of water as well as the can of tomatoes.
5. Add the star anise, 1/2 of onions, and english parsley to add flavor.
6. Simmer it for 1 hour.
7. Gradually add vegetables according to how long they take to cook (based off the 1 hour cooking time)
8. Perhaps in this order of time it takes to cook. Tomatoes, carrots, onions, turnips, celery, potatoes, cabbage
9. Then add the tomato sauce.
10. 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity of tomatoes.
11. If you want more sauce, add one can more tomato sauce and salt to taste.
12. Be sure you stir occasionally.
13. Bon appétit!
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Thank you so much for sharing the recipe Nate! And please thank your POPO too! And thank you for the heads up about the how long it will take to make it – very good to know!
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