Chinese-Italian Ragu

5 from 1 vote

Chinese-Italian Ragu is a rich, slow-simmered meat sauce with Sichuan peppercorns, Shaoxing wine, and other Chinese-inspired flavors.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Simmering Time2

Total Time2 50

Course: Main Course, Sauce

Cuisine: Chinese, Italian

Keyword: Beef, Fennel, Sauce, Tomato

Servings:

Author: Carolyn Stilwell

Ingredients

Toasted Spices

Ragu

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 ounces Pancetta diced
1 cup Carrots finely diced (about 2 small or 1 large carrot)
1 cup Fennel Stalks finely diced
1 small Yellow Onion finely diced
4 cloves Garlic minced
1 pound Ground Beef 90% lean recommended
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon White Pepper
2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
¼ cup Shaoxing Wine
28 ounces Crushed Tomatoes 1 can
2 cups Water
1 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
½ teaspoon Granulated Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Bay Leaf

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Toast the spices: Add the Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, fennel seeds, star anise, and dried red chili peppers to a dry pan over medium heat. Toast for 4–5 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Remove the star anise and dried chili peppers and set aside. Grind the Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, and fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle.
Cook the pancetta: Add the olive oil and pancetta to a cold Dutch oven. Place over medium heat and cook for 7–10 minutes, reducing the heat as needed, until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is browned. Transfer to a plate, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
Cook the vegetables: Add the carrots, fennel stalks, and onion. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
Add the aromatics: Stir in the garlic, ground toasted spices, salt, and white pepper. Cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
Brown the beef: Add the ground beef and break it into small crumbles. Cook for about 5 minutes, until mostly browned.
Add the tomato paste and wine: Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2–3 minutes, until it darkens slightly. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook briefly, until the wine has reduced slightly.
Build the ragu: Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, reserved star anise, reserved dried chili peppers, and cooked pancetta. Bring to a simmer.
Simmer: Reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pot. Simmer for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water as needed if the ragu becomes too thick.
Finish: Remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaf, star anise, and dried chili peppers. Taste and add additional salt as needed.

Video

Notes

No mortar and pestle: Let the toasted Sichuan peppercorns, cloves, and fennel seeds cool slightly, then grind them in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder. Alternatively, place them in a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin or heavy pan. They don't need to be finely ground, but make sure no large pieces of clove remain.
Chinese five-spice shortcut: For a shortcut, substitute 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes for the toasted spices, cinnamon stick, and dried red chili peppers. Skip Step 1 and add the five-spice powder and red pepper flakes with the garlic in Step 4.
Shaoxing wine: Dry sherry is the best substitute for Shaoxing wine and can be substituted 1:1.
Adjust the liquid as needed: Start with 2 cups water. The ragu will reduce differently depending on your pot, heat, and simmer time, so add more water as needed during cooking if it becomes too thick.
Salt: Pancetta, soy sauce, and oyster sauce all add salt, so start with the amount listed and adjust to taste at the end.
Make ahead, storage & reheating: This ragu is even better the next day after the flavors have had time to meld. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat gently over medium-low heat, adding a splash of water as needed to loosen the sauce.
Serving with pasta: One batch of ragu is enough for about 1 pound of dried pasta. Toss the cooked pasta with the ragu, then spoon additional ragu over each serving.

Nutrition