Cold soy-braised beef shank (Jiang niurou)

1. Leave the beef shank whole, blanch it in boiling water for 5 minutes, then rinse.

2. Put the sliced ginger, spring onions, star anise, cinnamon, five-spice, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, salt and water in a pot and bring to the boil.

3. Add the meat and simmer gently, covered, for 2-2.5 hours, turning halfway, until tender but still holding together nicely.

4. Off the heat, leave the beef to cool in the spiced liquid, then refrigerate it in the liquid overnight so it absorbs the flavours and firms up.

5. The next day lift out the beef and slice it thinly across the grain.

6. Arrange on a platter, drizzle with a little braising liquid and sesame oil, sprinkle with coriander and serve cold.

Tip: The basis of northern Chinese cold platters, it keeps for 4-5 days in the fridge. Strain and freeze the braising liquid: this is the "master stock", which gets richer with every use.