Shredded Beef and Black Bean

Shredded Beef and Black Bean. Three ingredients, one pot, zero stress. This saucy shredded beef is so good over noodles, your family will ask for it every single week.

I love a recipe where you barely have to do anything but still end up with something that tastes really amazing. This is one of those. You put a big piece of beef into the slow cooker, pour a bottle of black bean sauce over it, add a little garlic, and just leave it alone. That’s it — you’re done! Eight hours later, the beef is so soft you can pull it apart with just two forks. The sauce gets thick and rich and coats every single piece of meat. Pile it all over some Hokkien noodles with a few veggies on the side, and you’ve got a dinner that looks and tastes like you really knew what you were doing — even though the slow cooker did all the real work.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2.6 pounds beef roast (bolar)
• 1 piece bottle of ready-made beef and black bean sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried or fresh garlic
• 1 piece of Hokkien noodles, to serve
• 1 piece steamed vegetables, to serve

Shredded Beef and Black Bean: Directions

1. Put beef in the slow cooker: Place your 2.6-pound beef roast (bolar) right into the bottom of the slow cooker. No need to cut it up — it goes in whole!
2. Add the sauce: Pour the whole bottle of 1 piece bottle of ready-made beef and black bean sauce over the meat. Then put a tiny bit of water into the empty bottle, give it a shake, and pour that over too. This gets every last bit of sauce out of the bottle — no wasting it!
3. Add garlic: Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon dried or fresh garlic right over the top of the meat and sauce.
4. Cook on LOW: Put the lid on and set your slow cooker to LOW. Let it cook for about 480 minutes. Halfway through, flip the meat over so both sides soak up all that yummy black bean sauce.
5. Shred the beef: When the beef is done, it should be really soft and easy to pull apart. Use two forks to shred it into pieces right there in the slow cooker. Stir it all together so the meat soaks up the sauce.
6. Serve: Scoop the saucy shredded beef over cooked 1 piece Hokkien noodles, to serve and add some 1 piece steamed vegetables, to serve on the side. Dig in!

Notes

• Bolar beef roast is great for this because it gets really soft and shreds after a long cook. Chuck roast works well, too.
• Can’t find Hokkien noodles? Serve it over rice, mashed potatoes, or any noodles you like.
• The beef and black bean sauce does most of the flavoring work, so you really don’t need much else.
• Leftovers taste even better the next day once the meat has soaked up more sauce overnight.
• This is a super budget-friendly meal that’s big on flavor for very little effort.