What do you get when one of the most delicious traditional Eastern European soups meets authentic Chinese cooking? An irresistible Shanghai-style beef borscht recipe.
What is Borscht?
Borscht is essentially a warming, earthy-tasting beet soup. Characterized by a deep red base, with beets as the main ingredient, borscht includes other wholesome ingredients like meat or bone broth, potatoes, carrots, shredded cabbage, and onions.
To give the soup its signature tangy and slightly sour taste, a classic borscht recipe will call for lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar. Then comes the best part: garnish with a dollop of fresh sour cream and dill for a hint of extra texture, tanginess, and bitterness.
Borscht is eaten all across Europe. It is said to be native to Ukraine, but it’s a hallmark dish of Russian and Polish cuisine too. As you can see, it’s also made its way into American and Asian cooking.
What is in Shanghai-Style Beef Borscht?
China’s version of borscht is called Luo Song Tang, which has a paler red color. This is because it’s not made with beets, but tomatoes and tomato paste. Shanghai-style borscht is also made with beef and bone broth, and it is cooked with a bay leaf, which gives it a deeper flavor.
Shanghai-style borscht includes plenty of cabbage just as the traditional recipe does, but instead of adding lemon juice, dill, and sour cream, it’s simply garnished with fresh basil.
Now you can try this savory, Shanghai-style beef borscht recipe in your slow cooker. It requires minimal prep, so it’s quick and easy to put together on a weekday. The hardest part is smelling the delicious aromas in your kitchen while you wait for it to slow-cook for eight hours.
Beef Borscht Shanghai-Style
This Shanghai-style beef borscht recipe is made with a base of tomatoes, beef, and bone broth. Slow cooked for 8 hours to maximize the deep, savory flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 pound beef stew meat
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 large russet potato diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups Kettle & Fire Beef Bone Broth (1 carton)
- 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
- 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cups green cabbage thinly sliced
- Chopped fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
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Make a roux by melting butter with olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Once the butter is completely melted, decrease the heat to low, add flour; stir constantly until the mixture is blended and smooth.
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Add onion into the roux; increase the heat to medium-high heat. Stir until the onion is well-coated and fragrant; transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.
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Place all other ingredients except the cabbage in the slow cooker. Stir well, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.
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Add cabbage, switch slow cooker to high setting. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.
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Taste and add more salt or sugar if desired. Dish, garnish with basil and serve with your favorite bread.
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