Labean's Kitchen - Spicy beef shank in summer squash 麻辣牛肉南瓜盅

About a year ago, I had this awesome dish at a restaurant in Hong Kong which serves a Taiwanese cuisine.

There was one dish that really caught my parents and my attention. It's a spicy beef in pumpkin dish. I have been meaning to make it myself for a long time. But I couldn't find the spicy sauce (麻辣汁) anywhere in the supermarkets back home, so I wasn't able to try make it. :D

California's Chinese population is so diversified, you pretty much can find any kind of exotic things in the Chinese supermarkets here. :D And to my surprise, I located a 麻辣 hot pot soup mix pack and I figured I could use it! :D


Last Thursday, Mr. MonkeyMan and his pals came over for dinner, so I made them my guinea pig.

First we have to prepare the beef shank. Using my mom's gift to Mr. MonkeyMan, the vacuum pot, I cooked the beef for about 6 hours in the soup mix.

For the squash, I just wrapped it in tin foil and bake it in the oven for about an hour or 2.. :D

When the squash and the chunk of beef is ready, just cut the beef in cubes and stuff inside the squash.

After you stuffed the beef inside the squash, I just rewrapped it and put the whole thing back into the oven. Bake for another 1/2 hours or so just so the squash would suck up the spicy juice. :D

Peel the skin of the squash slightly to serve. :D

It was quite a success. We didn't finish the squash the same day, but we had the left overs during lunch the next day. :D So yummy :p