Beef stroganoff has a special place in my heart. This flavourful beef and mushroom stew will always remind me of my late auntie Rose. She was a little, old, Chinese woman. She was fiercely independent and liked to yell at people.We had a tense relationship, I was the niece who was her only chance at experiencing anything close to being a mother. She had helped my mum raise me from the moment I was born. The expectations of me living up to her standards of a good Chinese girl was extremely high and I went from sweet, quiet, math wiz to rebellious teen almost overnight.As soon as I was old enough, I moved away. I visited a few times a year but the catch ups were vague and awkward due to language barriers. I stayed away for 17 years and only returned during Covid when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, it had spread to her bones.I moved in with her right away and became her primary carer. It took us almost a year to get comfortable with one another. We used to fight over the silliest things. She wanted to stay independent for as long as possible, and I was cramping her style when all I wanted to do was help.In her last year, she started losing her teeth and it was hard for her to swallow solids. Making meals for her was becoming more of a challenge. She couldn't eat anything that needed too much chewing, she needed plenty of protein and preferably calorie dense foods. She only manage a few mouthfuls every meal.The only dish that made her come back for seconds, even small seconds, was my beef stroganoff."Un-ding-able!", she would exclaim with a mouthful of stroganoff and a mighty thumbs up. She was trying to say, unbelievable. I corrected her and she threw her head back laughing.&nbsp;Beef Stroganoff Recipe - Serves 6&nbsp;<figure style="width:50%;" class="image image-style-align-right image_resized"><img alt="Bonding Over Beef Stroganoff" height="2269" width="1284" src="https://sources.media.com/images/1680/66b8f27a-58e3-4356-bdc8-dcd7c0773001.jpg" style="aspect-ratio:1284/2269;"></figure>Cooking time: 3 hrs&nbsp;Ingredients<ul><li>1 kg beef chuck cubed</li><li>2 tbsp smoked paprika</li><li>1 tbsp dijon mustard</li><li>1 large onion diced</li><li>2 tbsp vegetable oil</li><li>3 cloves of garlic</li><li>500g button mushrooms sliced</li><li>60g butter</li><li>2 tbsp soy sauce</li><li>2 tbsp tomato paste</li><li>1L beef stock</li><li>Salt and lots of pepper</li><li>200mL sour cream and extra to serve</li><li>Handful of parsley for garnish</li></ul>Method<ul><li>Start by marinating the beef with paprika, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Add a little oil if it starts turning into too much of a paste. Marinate for a 2 hours minimum or overnight in the fridge. Make sure you take the beef out of the fridge, and let in come to room temperature two hours before you intend to start cooking.</li><li>In a heavy bottom large pot, saute and brown the mushrooms with butter on medium-high heat. Once they're done, take them out and set them aside for later.</li><li>In the same pot, add 1 tbsp on olive oil and brown the cubed beef in batches without overcrowding the pot.</li><li>Once all the beef is brown, add onions and garlic to the same pot and saute until its soft and fragrant.</li><li>Then add the beef back into the pot and stir through.</li><li>Stir in tomato paste and soy sauce.</li><li>Pour in the beef stock and bring it to a boil uncovered, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 2 hours, stirring once in awhile to make sure the bottom isn't sticking.</li><li>It's ready when the beef is tender and breaks apart with a fork. Add the mushrooms back into the dish.</li><li>Keep the heat on low and stir in the sour cream.</li><li>Cook with the lid off for a further 10 minutes.</li><li>Serve with rice or pasta with a sprinkle of parsley and a crack of black pepper. &nbsp;</li></ul>Notes<ul><li>This is a great recipe to make in big batches as it freezes really well.</li><li>If you have it, ground mustard powder is also a good substitute for dijon mustard. In fact, my original recipe used the mustard powder. I ran out one day and made-do with dijon mustard, which is stock standard in most fridge/pantries.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li></ul>I hope this special recipe becomes a part of your repertoire and everyone you make it for thinks it's 'un-ding-able'. Tell me how your stroganoff turned out, leave me a comment.&nbsp;

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Bonding Over Beef Stroganoff

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