For owners of fast food restaurants: a quick and easy recipe for curry rice.

Making the Flavor Oil

1. Spices: Get 9g of star anise, 7g of galangal, 10g of cinnamon stick, 10g of angelica root, 3.5g of bay leaves, 6g of cumin seeds, and 6g of Sichuan peppercorns.

2. Aromatics: Cut 65g of green onions into pieces, slice 65g of ginger, chop 100g of onions into pieces, and smash 90g of garlic.

3. Fresh Chicken Fat: Put 500g of chicken fat cubes in boiling water for 5 seconds. Put aside.

   This is the secret: When you blanch chicken fat, it gets rid of any bad smells. But don't forget to not let them boil for too long.

4. Put 2.5 pounds of vegetable oil and 300 grams of refined beef tallow in a pot. Put in the chicken fat and spices, and heat until they start to sizzle. When the oil reaches 130°C (266°F), add the star anise, galangal, cinnamon stick, and angelica root. Let everything simmer for three minutes. Next, put in the cumin seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves. Keep cooking on low heat until the spices turn a beautiful golden brown and start to smell amazing. Take the heat off and let it sit for an hour. Take out the solids, and there you go! You have your oil for flavor.

   Just a quick note: When it comes to letting flavors out, slow and low is the way to go. Cumin seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves don't like high heat, so they go in last.

Cooking the Beef

First, cut the 3 pounds of chuck roast into cubes that are 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide. Put these in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil for a minute. Take the beef out and put it aside.

Here's a tip: you can also use brisket, but it's a little fattier, so you might get a little less. The good news is that it tastes great.

2. Gardenia Fruit Water: Crush 10g of gardenia fruit and let it soak in 400g of boiling water for an hour.

3. Put 110g of the flavor oil you've made, along with 35g of sliced ginger and 70g of chopped green onions, in the same pot. Sauté them until they start to turn yellow. Add your spices to the pot and stir them over a low flame to bring out their flavors. Next, add 15g of Chen Youxiang's curry powder and stir until it is well mixed in. Add 35 grams of light soy sauce, 30 grams of cooking wine, and 6.5 pounds of water. Finally, add the solids from the water from the gardenia fruit. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then turn off the heat. Put the solids in a spice bag and the broth in a pressure cooker.

Put your blanched beef in the pressure cooker as well, and let it cook on medium heat for about 26 minutes (like you would on the stovetop). When the beef is done, take it out and set it aside. You can use the braising liquid later. The beef should be perfectly braised by now.

30g of salt, 10g of chicken bouillon, 4g of white pepper, and 18g of dark soy sauce are all you need.

This spice mix has 2g of bay leaves, 3g of Sichuan peppercorns, 3g of cumin seeds, 4g of star anise, 4g of cinnamon stick, 6g of nutmeg, and 6g of angelica root.

Just a heads up: Be careful about the order in which you add the ingredients and how long you cook them. Just change the amounts if you want to cook more beef at once.

The Last Steps

1. Peel and chop 130g of carrots into 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) pieces. Cut 500g of potatoes into 2.5 cm (1 inch) cubes. Put oil in a pot and heat it to 170°C (338°F). Then, for about two minutes, gently fry the potato cubes. Add the diced carrots and fry for another minute. Then, take them out of the oil and set them aside.

Here's a tip: Fry the potatoes until they are just starting to turn a light golden color. This will keep them whole and make them taste great.

2. Put 30g of your flavor oil and 40g of butter in your pan and let them melt. Cook 13g of minced garlic and 8g of minced ginger in a pan until they smell good. Add 90g of curry paste and 15g of light soy sauce and stir until the smell fills the room. Add the fried potatoes and carrot dice to the pot along with 850g of the reserved braising liquid. Lastly, add 300g of the braised beef, 5g of MSG, and 4g of sugar. Bring everything to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover it, and let it cook for three minutes. Add 200g of chopped onions, let it cook for another minute, and then turn off the heat. Your curry beef is ready! Just split everything, including the broth, into three parts.

You can get ready for this step in bulk ahead of time!

3. Put 300g of rice in a bowl. Put one serving of the prepared curry beef in a pan over low heat and cook it until it's hot all the way through.

Drizzle the thickened sauce over the top and cook it until it's just the way you like it. Then serve it over rice! Mix 5g of cornstarch with 10g of water until smooth to make the sauce thicker.

You can make the sauce as thick or as thin as you want. So, go ahead and make it your own!